


Everything

by BeStillMySlashyHeart



Category: Animal Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Brotherhood, Communication, Developing Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Whump, rated for language, the boys like to curse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-03-18 04:09:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13673991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeStillMySlashyHeart/pseuds/BeStillMySlashyHeart
Summary: Adrian had made his feelings clear. He didn't want to be with Deran. And even though things had been changing between them recently Deran was trying his best to respect that. Or at least he was. Until Adrian got hurt.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There are not enough fics in this fandom. I love this show and Deran Cody so much. I threw this prompt out there on tumblr but nobody reacted so I figured I might as well write it my own damn self.
> 
> I am a bit out of practice with the whole writing thing and this is unbeta-ed so apologies if it's a bit rough around the edges
> 
> Set sort of at the end of Season 2. Basically everything has happened except Craig hasn't left town and Baz wasn't shot. 
> 
> The first chapter is pretty much a prologue. No actual Deran/Adrian..or Deran for that matter

J was doing everything he could to keep the family business afloat with Smurf in jail. Thankfully, she had started to teach him what he needed to know before she got locked up. But it was still a lot for him to handle on his own. He’d spent the last 2 days just going property to property collecting the rent checks. None were as much of a problem as that one guy Smurf sent him to as a test but none of them were particularly easy either. With Smurf in jail and himself a kid they didn’t know, many were reluctant to hand over the money. He’d managed to collect almost all of it but he still had one more stop before he could go home. 

He rode his back up to a surf shop right off the boardwalk. It didn’t look like much but he double checked the address and confirmed it was the right place. He walked in the front door but the first room was empty. He saw a door off to his right and a man bent over a board so he walked over and knocked on the door frame. The guy looked up at him.

“I’m here for the rent.” He said.

“Where’s Smurf?” the guy asked.

“In jail. I’m her grandson.” J answered. “The rent?”

“I don’t have it. You’ll have to ask Adrian. He’s in the back room.” The guy answered.

J turned around and looked around the main room again. This time he saw a second doorway in the back corner. There was a sound emanating from it, almost like a saw or a drill or something. He made his way over and eased open the door. The guy on the other side, Adrian he presumed, looked like shit. He had clearly been on the bad end of a pretty gruesome fight recently. His face was bruised and one eye was swollen shut. His left arm was heavily bandaged and he wore a wrist guard. He didn’t look up right away, instead finishing the task before him. After a minute or two in which J didn’t say anything, he turned off the machine, looked up, and took off the mask that was strapped to his face. J thought he looked familiar but he couldn’t quite place him. 

“You’re J, right? Deran’s nephew?” he asked.

J was taken off guard. That this guy could place him as a Cody probably wasn’t a surprise but the fact that he knew his name and knew him by his relation to Deran rather than Smurf – that was surprising. That’s when he realized how he knew him. This was the guy from the beach bathroom.

“Uh yeah. Smurf sent me to collect the rent.” He finally said.

“Sure thing. Give me a second.” He walked past J back into the main room. 

J waited where he was. This was the smoothest exchange he’d had yet. He didn’t have to convince anyone that he was really there on behalf of Smurf and he didn’t have to field any threats of nonpayment. He could wait a few minutes. 

While he waited for Adrian to return he thought about the fact that he knew who J was. And as he thought about it more, he realized the beach wasn’t the only time he had seen him. He’d been to the house at least once for a party. So clearly this guy wasn’t just a random hook up of Deran’s. Deran had brought him to the house and told him enough that he knew that Deran had a nephew. 

He was torn from his thoughts when Adrian returned and handed him an envelope. 

“Everything should be in there. You need anything else just let me know.” He said to J. 

“Thanks.” J responded and he turned to leave.

“Hey J” he heard from behind him. He turned back around. “Don’t uh – don’t tell Deran about this ok? He doesn’t need to know.” He said, gesturing to his injuries. 

“Sure thing.” J shrugged and said to him. He hadn’t even considered it. It’s not like he talked to Deran all that often anyway. Again he turned to leave and this time he wasn’t stopped. He made his way back outside to his bike and began the ride back to the house. 

\-----

By the time he got home he had put the majority of the encounter to the back of his mind. He double counted the rent money he’d collected and stored it away safely. It wasn’t until later as he was lying in bed that he thought about what Adrian had said. The last interaction they had had been when he helped Deran beat him up in the bathroom. And now here he was, clearly beaten up again, asking J not to tell Deran. Admittedly, J paid almost no attention to his uncle’s life. So he doesn’t know what their relationship is but it seemed odd that he would ask J to keep it a secret from Deran. Did he think that Deran would care? 

The next morning he was still thinking about that guy from the surf shop. Adrian. It was annoying him because if he hadn’t asked J not to tell Deran he wouldn’t have thought twice about it. Honestly, he probably would have forgotten about him as soon as he left the shop. The injuries sustained by one of Smurf’s renters were just not his problem. But now he was thinking about it and he didn’t know what to do. He felt like he was missing some piece of information that would make it all make sense. He should probably talk to Deran about it except he told Adrian he wouldn’t. Which left him with either breaking his word to a guy he didn’t know or ignoring the whole situation alone. Option number 2 honestly sounded great to him. It wasn’t his problem. 

Except. 

He wasn’t sure if he felt bad for Adrian because he’d clearly been through shit or if he was just curious to know more about his uncle. They weren’t what anyone would call close but he thought maybe they could be. And really, if he was going to have a relationship with any of his uncles, it would probably be Deran. 

After thinking about it some more he picked up his phone and called Craig. He was the closest to Deran out of everyone and maybe he could tell J what the hell was going on without J having to break a promise to Adrian. 

Craig didn’t pick up. When it went to voicemail, J pulled the phone away from his ear and hung up. Then he looked at the time. 9:34 am. No shit Craig didn’t pick up. He probably wouldn’t even be conscious for a few more hours.

Sure enough it wasn’t until well into the afternoon that J got a call back from Craig.  
“Hey man. What’s up? Is something wrong?” Craig asked as soon J answered. Which was fair. It’s not like J had a habit of calling his uncle.

“No nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to ask you about Deran’s friend Adrian.” J said.

Craig was quiet. “What about him?”

“Like, are they friends? Or something else? Something more maybe?” 

“What makes you say that? How do you even know Adrian?”

“I saw them together a couple times. And I met him when I went to pick up the rent for Smurf.” 

“And why do you give a shit about him and Deran?”

“I don’t know. I just –“ J stopped. He still wasn’t what he was doing here talking to Craig.

“Just what man?”

“He uh- he was in pretty rough shape. It looked like someone beat the crap out of him. And he asked me not to tell Deran. I wouldn’t have even thought to but he made a point to tell me not to so I figured maybe there was a reason? But I said I wouldn’t talk to Deran so I thought maybe you’d know?” J told Craig.

“Shit. How bad?”

“Pretty bad. Black eye. Face pretty messed up. His arm and wrist were all bandaged too.”

“Shit. And Deran doesn’t know?”

“No. Well at least I didn’t tell him anything.”

“Ok good. Don’t. Deran is gonna lose his shit if he finds out. Where is Adrian? You said you saw him when you went to pick up the rent?”

“Yeah. He was at the surf shop off of the boardwalk. Why exactly will Deran lose his shit?”

“Ok I’ll go see him. Go keep Deran busy or something. Make sure he doesn’t go near Adrian.”

“Would he though? Are they friends? Cause no offence but you guys don’t really have friends.”

“Look Adrian is…it’s complicated but yes Deran would absolutely go over there if he knew Adrian was in trouble. And he won’t be calm. So let me go talk to Adrian and you keep Deran busy.”

“Don’t you –“ J tried to protest but Craig hung up on him. 

Well shit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craig talks to Adrian while J tries to keep Deran occupied and unaware

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know nothing about surfing, surfing competitions, or anything related
> 
> Also I have no idea what goes into owning or running a bar
> 
> So take what you will with a grain of salt

Craig pulled up to the surf shop and cut the engine on the bike. He’d ran out the door almost as soon as he’d hung up on J. He should’ve known something was wrong as soon as he’d seen the missed call from J. J never called. But he honestly would never have suspected that J would be calling about Adrian. He didn’t even realize that J knew about Adrian. Or about Deran and Adrian. 

He shook his head to clear his thoughts as he opened the door. The front room was empty, as always, so he went to the first room on the right and peeked his head in. There was a man working on a board but it wasn’t Adrian so he pulled his head back and went to the second door and nudged it open. Here was Adrian. 

Damn.

J was right. Adrian looked like shit. And he couldn’t even see most of his face with the mask on. Adrian looked up when the door opened and stopped the machine he was working with. He pulled the mask off.

“The kid” he stated. Not questioning for a second what Craig was doing here.

“He got curious when you told him not to tell Deran so he called me. What the hell happened man?” Craig replied.

“Did you tell Deran?”

“No. Now tell me what happened to you.”

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

“Look I don’t know what your definition of fine is man but you are not it. Can you even see out of your left eye right now? And going by the brace and the bandages I don’t know how you’re using that machine.”

“It’s not your problem. I can handle it.” Adrian told him firmly. “Look Craig. Nice to see you and all but unless you have a board you need me to fix, I’m gonna ask you to leave.”

“Look man I know we’re not exactly friends but my brother cares about you so I’m not gonna leave until you tell me what’s going on with you.” Adrian couldn’t recall the last time he had seen Craig this serious about something. It was clear he wasn’t going to budge and unless Adrian wanted to forcefully remove him from the shop, Craig wasn’t going anywhere. And, well, he couldn’t move Craig even without a busted arm.

Adrian removed the mask fully and sat down on the bench behind the work table. Craig moved more fully into the room and closed the door. Adrian appreciated the gesture.

“I don’t even know how it happened. I went to a contest. Figured I’d give the circuit another shot. The second day, some guys approached me about a sponsorship but I turned them down. Didn’t want to commit to anything, you know? Anyway I did pretty well the next day. Got top 3 and moved on to the final day. I beat some of the more established guys out there. And I guess some of them were sponsored by the guys who approached me and they didn’t take too kindly to their guys not making the finals on account of me. So they decided to teach me a lesson.” Adrian told him. “You want to know what happened? Some guys I didn’t know from some company I never heard of offered me some money and I turned it down. I did well in the competition and so they wrapped a wire around my arm and dragged me behind their car for a couple of miles.”

“The fuck?”

“You can see the bandages on my arm but the abrasions go all the way down my body. I was in the hospital for over a week. Definitely couldn’t finish the competition and by the time I was released they had moved onto the next one. So I just came home.”

“Should you be working?”

“Probably not but I’ve gotta pay rent.”

“Shit. How long ago was this?”

“I’ve been home for a week so about two weeks ago.”

“And your eye is still fucked up?”

“Oh that. Different story. Apparently I hooked up with the kind of guy that doesn’t like it when you don’t call him back. Ran into him the other day and he was pissed that I ‘ran out on him’. Don’t worry, that one I gave as good as I got.”

“Fuck man. Deran is gonna lose his shit when he sees you.”

“Well he’s not going to see me so it’s not a problem.”

“And how do you suppose that? I know you guys are talking or whatever.”

“Yeah but I didn’t tell him I was back in town. He thinks I’m still on the circuit competing. And you’re not going to tell him any different. And you’re going to make sure the kid doesn’t either. Look I don’t know how Deran would react. But I think I’d rather not find out.”

“You know Deran. He’ll lose it.”

“You don’t know that. You don’t –“

“Yes I do. I know my brother. And when he sees the state you’re in he will lose his shit. He’ll want to go after the guys who did this and make them pay.”

“How do you know that? Because of his extensive experience with having a guy he fucked get beat up?”

“You’re not just some guy he fucked! You know that right? Deran cares about you. A lot. More than anybody else outside the family. Maybe more than some people in the family. I know he’s been giving you space but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. And Deran protects what’s his. And that’s you. Whether you realize it or not.”  
“I disagree”

“Shit Adrian. I know my brother. He sucks at talking. He’s even worse about talking about his feeling and crap. But I also know that he does care about you. I mean you guys were friends for years before anything else right? You’re like the only friend he’s ever kept longer than a party. Even if you weren’t sleeping together-“

“We’re not sleeping together” Adrian had to interject.

“Whatever. Even you guys had never slept together, he’d still go to the mat for you. You’ve gotta know that.”

“When he comes to Deran and what he’d do…I don’t gotta know anything.”

There was a long pause after that. Craig shook his head. He realized that Deran was all repressed and shit but since he’d come out to Smurf and opened the bar and started to make something of himself, he thought he was getting better. He’d seen Adrian at the bar a couple of times and thought things were going better for them. But clearly his brother still sucked at this.

“Alright look. I’m not gonna tell Deran ok. And I’ll try and make sure the kid keeps his mouth shut too.”

“Thank you.”

“Sure”

There was nothing more to say. Craig stood up from where he had been leaning against the wall. He opened the door and left without saying goodbye. He closed the door behind him and made his way towards the front door.

As he walked past, the first door on his left opened and Adrian’s coworker walked out.

“You’re a Cody right?”

Craig nodded. He wasn’t sure what the guy’s name was.

“Adrian won’t tell me what’s going on but I know he’s into something bad. When he got back a week ago he could barely move but he insisted on working. Said he needed the money. Now I know he paid the rent on his place for a couple extra months before he left just to make sure he was covered so he can’t need it for rent. And 2 days ago I saw some guys waiting for him outside the shop when he went out for lunch. He came back with that black eye of his.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Craig asked.

“You’re Deran’s brother right? I don’t know if they’re friends or what but I figure if anyone’s gonna stick up for Adrian and help him out it’d be Deran. I would call him but I don’t know his number and I heard he doesn’t live at Smurf’s anymore. Figured you could let him know.”

“Yeah alright thanks.”

The guy nodded and turned around to go back into the room he came out of.

“Wait” Craig said, thinking quickly. “Let me give you my number. Call me if you see those guys back here again or if something else happens to Adrian, ok?”

The guy nodded again and pulled out his phone. He unlocked it then handed it over to Craig who quickly input his number. He double checked it then handed it back. The guy took it and added Craig’s name to the contact before putting his phone away.

This time they both went their separate ways. When Craig got outside he pulled out his own phone. He had 2 texts from J.

From J – 4:39 PM:

At Deran’s bar. He’s pretty suspicious

From J – 5:02 PM:

OK he knows something is up

Craig ran a hand over his face then put his phone away. He put his helmet on and swung a leg over the bike. After getting it started, he swung out of the parking lot and took off towards Deran’s bar. 

\-------

Deran was busy setting up. The bar didn’t open until 5 but he had to get everything ready before he opened the doors. On one of the first nights he put off some of the prep until later in the night. He learned his lesson real quick. Never again. 

He was startled to hear a knock on the door. The sign clearly said closed and it’s not like he usually had people walking in at 5. Without pausing what he was doing, he yelled at a quick “We open at 5!”

“It’s J!” he heard yelled back from the other side of the door. That made him stop. 

Curious, he walked over and unlocked the door. He opened it without a word, quirking his eyebrow up in question.

“Nicky’s doing some shit and I was bored at the house. Figured I’d see if you needed help with anything.” J explained as he walked in.

Deran shut and locked the door behind him. “You’re under 21 man. I can’t have you working here. Even just helping out.”

“Right. Sorry.” J said awkwardly.

“You can hang out if you want.” Deran told him as he walked back to the bar to pick up where he’d left off.

J stayed where he was. When Deran saw that he took pity on the kid.

“Get the chairs off the tables and wipe down all the tabletops.” He told him. That was at least something he could do that Deran couldn’t be fined or arrested for.

J nodded, grateful to have something to do. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t take very long. Less than 10 minutes later, J was left standing awkwardly in the middle of the floor again. He waited for a moment to see if Deran had anything else for him to do but when no other assignment was forthcoming he walked over and had a seat at the bar. He watched Deran work in silence. 

It wasn’t long before the silence began to unnerve Deran. He looked over at the kid sitting there silently. 

“So what are you really doing here?” he finally asked.

“I told you. Nicky-“

“Yeah Nicky’s out and you were bored.” Deran cut him off. “So you came here. To my bar.”

“Well I wasn’t going to go to Craig’s.” J tried to joke but it fell flat.

“Seriously man. What are you doing here? If you need something just spit it out.”

“I don’t need anything.”

“Then what?”

“I just- I just thought maybe we could hang out or something.” J winced as he said it. Deran just stared. 

“Hang out?”

“Yeah I don’t know. It’s not like I have a ton of friends and I thought it might be nice if we didn’t hate each other.”

“I don’t hate you man. But we’re not exactly friends.”

“I know. But we’re not that far apart in age. So I thought-“ J let it trail off. He knows he’s full of shit and he knows Deran can pick up on it. But it’s not like he has an actual reason to be here except to keep Deran occupied so he doesn’t go see his friend. Though considering he’s setting up for the night and looks to be working, he doesn’t think he really needs to be here.

Thankfully, Deran decided to merciful and let J get away without finishing his thought, “Ok whatever. You can hang out here but stay away from any alcohol and keep out of my way.” 

With that, Deran went into the back office and J pulled out his phone to text Craig. He knew this had been a bad idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still no Deran/Adrian, sorry
> 
> They'll get there!
> 
> Does anyone know the name of Adrian's coworker? I can't remember if it was ever mentioned


	3. Chapter 3

Craig walked into the bar not long after he opened. He nodded to Deran where he was at behind the bar and he headed over to where J sat at a table along the back wall. Deran eyed the two of them suspiciously. He knew something was going on with them. First, J came in and wanted to help him out when the kid had never volunteered to spend time with him before. And now Craig chose to talk to J before Deran. And the way he walked straight over to J made it clear that he knew before he arrived that J would be here. He was torn from his thoughts of his brother and nephew when a group of customers approached the bar.

Meanwhile, the two men on the other side of the room spoke quietly to each other. 

“What was that about Deran knowing something’s up? What did you tell him?” Craig asked J, referring to the text J had sent.

“I didn’t say anything. But wouldn’t you be suspicious if I just decided to come over and hang out for no reason?” J retorted.

“You couldn’t come up with a reason?”

“What does it even matter? When I got here he was already setting up for the night and you know he’ll be here until close so there’s no reason for either of us to keep an eye on him. Did you talk to his friend?”

“Ya. He says Deran doesn’t even know he’s in town.”

“Great. So I really don’t need to be here. I’m gonna head on out.” J stood from the table and picked up his empty water glass.

Craig put out an arm before he could walk away. “Don’t say any-“

“Don’t say anything to Deran. Yeah I got it. Look I really don’t care about this anymore. I did my part in telling you. If you think it’s a problem then it’s yours to deal with.” 

“You’re gonna turn your back on family? Seriously, man?”

“Adrian isn’t family.”

“But Deran is. Would you walk away if this was Cath?”

J paused and looked at Craig. “What are they married or something?”

Craig shook his head. “No course not. Deran would have had to admit that they were together for that. But I’m pretty sure Deran never cheated on him either.”

J thought about that for a second. He had been right then. Adrian was way more than just a hookup. He looked over at where Deran was working behind the bar. He knew that if Cath had been in trouble, all of the Cody’s would have helped Baz get her out of it. If Nicky was hurt, he would want his uncles to help him track down the people who hurt her. 

J turned back to Craig. “Ok I’ll help. But I’m still leaving. There’s no need for me to be here and it’s just going to make Deran more suspicious.”

“Fine. But I need you to do something for me tomorrow. Keep an eye on him. Most of his injuries are a couple weeks old but his coworker said that the black eye is new. I want to know if anything else happens. And see if you can spot anyone else keeping an eye on him.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“I’ll tell Baz and Pope and see if we can’t figure out what the fuck is going on.”

“When are you planning to tell Deran?”

“Tell Deran what?” Both J and Craig started at the new voice. They turned to see that Deran had joined them without either noticing.

J looked at Craig then back to Deran. “I think I’m going to just leave.” He handed his empty glass to Deran and made a beeline for the front door.

Deran watched him go then turned back to his brother. “What’s this about, man?”

Craig shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing man. Just planning a surprise. Which I guess isn’t a surprise anymore.” He gave a weak chuckle.

“Right. And who exactly do you have the kid keeping an eye on? And why are you roping in Baz and Pope? Before me?” Deran was starting to get a little bit angry. And honestly, a little bit hurt. He and Craig always had each other’s backs but now Craig was keeping something from him. “Are you pulling a job without me?”

Craig grasped at the opening Deran gave him. “You said you were out man. You know, going all legit and everything. I didn’t want to involve you.”

Deran looked at him. Craig really was a terrible liar sometimes. “Follow me.”

“What, why?”

“I’m not having this conversation in the middle of a half empty bar.” Deran turned and walked towards the office. He didn’t bother to check if Craig was following him. 

Once Craig had followed him in, Deran made sure to shut the door before turning on his brother.

“Cut the shit man. You’re not pulling a job.”

“You said you didn’t want to be a part of it anymore! I was-“

“No. You don’t come up with jobs. You especially don’t come up with jobs and go to the kid first. That’s bullshit.”

“Well you never know. Things change.”

Silence ensued as the two men just stared at each other. They both knew Craig was lying. Deran was waiting for him to break and Craig was hoping that Deran would just let it go. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side.

“Who’s hurt?”

“What?” Craig tried to play dumb.

“You told J to keep any eye on someone who was hurt in case the guys who did it came back for more. Who is it?”

“I think you misheard me dude. No one’s hurt.”

“Is it bad?” Deran shot back, barely waiting for Craig to finish denying it.

“No one’s hurt!” At this point Craig was shouting.

“Is he ok?” Deran shot back quickly. He was starting to raise his voice as well. He wanted his brother to just tell him the truth dammit. 

“He’s fine!”

“Who?”

“What?”

“Who’s hurt?”

“No one! Will you just let it go already?”

“Fine just tell me how bad he is.”

“Look man Adrian’s fine I swear.” 

The silence in the room was practically deafening. Both of them had been shouting and Deran had been pressing Craig quickly hoping to trip him up. He was successful but he kind of wished he wasn’t right now. He looked at Craig. Craig stared back with a look of horror on his face as if he couldn’t believe he’d said that.

“What’s wrong with Adrian?”

“Nothing man I swear.” Craig tried to salvage the situation.

“Bullshit. He’s on some circuit right now. What do you know?”

“Deran-“

“No you told J to keep an eye on him. He’s back in town?” Deran cut him off. He looked up at Craig and wished not for the first time that he was taller than his brother. It was hard to intimidate him when he was half a foot shorter than the guy but he figured his face right now more than made up for it. 

Craig took a step back from Deran. He hadn’t seen his brother this angry in years, if ever. He sighed. Maybe it was better for him to find out now. “Ya he’s back. He ran into some trouble with some guys at a competition and came back. J saw him at the shop when he went to collect the rent and he looked a bit rough. He recognized him so he called me and asked if I knew him. I stopped by earlier to see him for myself. He’s in some pretty rough shape bro.”

Deran didn’t respond. He just stared at his brother for a second before walking out. Craig quickly followed. He watched as Deran walked up to the bar and told the bartender he was leaving.

“I’m heading out. I may be back or I may not. Call me if there’s an emergency but otherwise handle it.” Deran told Heather. “If you need an extra pair of hands, Craig is gonna stick around to help out.”

Craig started to protest but was cut off by the look on Deran’s face. Instead, he just nodded and watched as Deran stormed out of the bar.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deran pulled into the parking lot in front of the surf shop with a squeal of tires. As he hopped out of the car, Adrian’s coworker walked out of the front door to the shop with keys in hand. He stopped when he saw Deran, letting the door hit him in the back as it swung closed.

“He’s not here. He left about 10 minutes ago.”

“Did he say where he was going?”

“No. But I assume he went home. He looked tired.”

Deran got back in his car and turned the ignition. Before he could pull out, the other guy said to him, “Look out for him, will you? I think he needs someone to watch his back right now.”

Deran nodded before pulling out of the lot. He knew the way to Adrian’s house well enough that he didn’t need to pay attention and so he let his thoughts wander a bit.

He still didn’t know what happened. What he did know was that it was bad enough that the kid went to Craig and now his coworker was asking him to help Adrian. It didn’t make sense. Last he knew Adrian was out of town on the circuit trying one last time to make something of himself in surfing professionally. Now all of a sudden he’s back in town and “in pretty rough shape”. Whatever the fuck that meant. 

He was pulled from his thoughts when he realized that he was in the parking lot to Adrian’s building. He saw Adrian’s car in the lot so at least he didn’t have to check anywhere else. He parked and got out before walking up to Adrian’s door. He waited a few minutes after knocking but when it became clear that Adrian wasn’t going to answer he walked around back. One carryover from their ‘relationship’ was that he knew ways into Adrian’s apartment that weren’t the front door. He found the back door locked but jimmied it open quick enough and walked in. 

Adrian wasn’t in his room but Deran saw a light on down the hall from where he knew the kitchen was. He could hear music playing. It wasn’t loud enough to be heard outside but it wasn’t so quiet that he couldn’t make out the song from where he was. Adrian would have heard his knocking but he may not have heard Deran come in the back. He kept that in bad as he walked towards the kitchen. 

Deran stopped in the open doorway and stared at the man in the room. Adrian was bent over the stove, facing away from him as he cooked dinner. He had already taken his shirt off and his back and arms were bare to Deran’s eyes. There were bright red abrasions and dark bruises covering his left side and a large part of his back. Deran could only see Adrian’s back but it was easy to tell that the wounds went even lower. He took in the bandage wrapped around Adrian’s left arm, from shoulder to wrist. It was clear that it had originally been white but much of it was dirty now and there were more than a couple bloody splotches showing.

“Jesus Christ Adrian” Deran whispered. He wasn’t sure he had spoken loud enough to be heard over the music but he knew he had when Adrian stiffened in front of him.

Adrian didn’t respond. He didn’t even turn around. He just kept cooking. Deran wanted to be angry at him but he couldn’t. He just stood where he was, taking in the state of him. The sight almost made him want to cry. 

The two men stayed on opposite sides of the kitchen. Deran couldn’t take stop looking at Adrian and Adrian couldn’t turn around to look at Deran. Neither spoke. They were at an impasse. 

\------

When Adrian’s dinner was ready, he turned off the stove and plated the food. Then he stopped. The table was behind Deran. To get to it, he would have to turn around and face him. He wasn’t sure he wanted to do that just yet. He knew, he knew¸ that it was only a matter of time after Craig found out that he would tell Deran. He just figured he would have more than two hours. 

He took a deep breath then leaned over and turned off the music. The silence somehow increased the tension in the room but Adrian ignored it and turned around. He meant to just take his plate and push past Deran to the table but the look in Deran’s eyes made him freeze where he was. 

Deran was angry. That was obvious and expected. But he also looked…devastated. And that was definitely not what Adrian expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this. I'm sort of letting the story figure itself out. So updates may be sporadic. We shall see


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deran and Adrian finally talk

Deran and Adrian stood on opposite sides of the small kitchen. Neither said a word. Deran took in the injuries on Adrian’s chest. They weren’t quite as bad as his back but he was still heavily bruised. 

Adrian was still trying to get over the look on Deran’s face. He’d never seen him like this before. Eventually he remembered where he was and he grabbed his plate from the counter. He made to go to the table but Deran hadn’t moved from where he stood in the doorway. 

“Deran” Adrian said, hoping to nudge the other man out of his way.

Deran still didn’t move. It was like he was struck dumb by him. 

“You’re in my way.” Adrian tried again. This time it seemed to work. Deran looked down at the plate in Adrian’s hands then at himself as if just now realizing where he was standing. He took a step back out of the doorway and Adrian pushed past to the table. Deran followed him but didn’t sit down. He stood against the wall as Adrian started eating. He stayed silent.

After a minute or two the silence started to get to Adrian. He put down his utensils. “Do you have any idea how unnerving it is for someone to stare at you while you’re eating? Sit down.” He told him. “Or leave.”

Deran grabbed a chair and sat down. He stared at the table now but he still didn’t say anything. The rest of the meal continued like this.

When he finished, Adrian got up and put his plate in the sink. He stood there for a moment, debating if he wanted to do the dishes now or later. As much as he wanted to put it off and just go to bed, he figured maybe Deran would continue his silence while he worked. He reached over and grabbed the bottle of dish soap.

Unfortunately, he was wrong. Whatever had kept Deran silent thus far had apparently worn off. He heard the other man come up behind him and resume his place in the doorway.

“What happened?” he heard him ask. Adrian didn’t answer. He hadn’t wanted to have this conversation. 

“Dammit Adrian. You look like roadkill. What the fuck happened?” Deran asked again.

Adrian focused on the dishes. He meant what he had said to Craig. He had no idea how Deran would react. He wasn’t even sure he’d care. That’s part of why he hadn’t wanted him to know. Adrian wasn’t sure he could handle Deran knowing he was hurt and not caring about it. But he also wasn’t sure he could handle this. He had been Deran’s dirty little secret for so long that he honestly didn’t know what to expect from him in this situation. 

“What are you doing here?” He finally asked. Maybe they could have an honest conversation for once. They were in a better place now than they had ever been. But Adrian still wasn’t sure they were in the right place for this.

“Craig said you were hurt.” He heard Deran answer.

“And so you came running over? Your brother said I was hurt and that meant you could break into my house?” Adrian was still doing the dishes. He thought maybe he understood why Deran chose now to talk. It was easier when they weren’t facing each other.

“I knocked on the front door but you didn’t answer. And I didn’t know how hurt. Maybe you couldn’t answer. I didn’t know.”

“But why come in the first place?”

“Because Craig said you were hurt.” Deran repeated. “He said you were in rough shape.”

“And what? You had to come running over to see if someone roughed me up worse than you did? Why are you here?” Adrian slammed his hands on the edge of the sink. Deran was talking in circles and not answering his damn questions. 

“What? No!” Deran denied. “I-I was worried.”

Adrian was stunned. Deran never admitted how he felt. Ever. 

He turned around. 

Deran was still in the doorway. He was playing with the cuff of his sleeve and looking at Adrian. He didn’t look away when Adrian looked at him. He simply met his gaze. 

It was such a change from the guy he had been when they were together. The man in his kitchen wasn’t ashamed of what he was feeling and he wasn’t hiding. He was actually being honest about how he felt. And he had come running over as soon as he heard because he was worried about Adrian. 

Adrian didn’t know what to say. He knew his silence was getting to Deran but he didn’t know the right words. 

“You were worried? About me?” He eventually forced out.

“Yeah man. I didn’t even know you were in town until Craig said you were hurt and that it was bad. He said the kid saw you and you looked bad enough that he called Craig. And then your coworker told me to look out for you when I stopped by the shop.” Deran told him. “So yes. I was worried.”

“Since when do you care? It’s not like you haven’t contributed your fair share to my medical history.”

“I’m sorry for what I did. I was scared when J saw us. It’s not an excuse but it will never happen again.” Deran said. Adrian believed him. He knew it was a bit of a low blow bringing it up because he had understood why Deran did it and he knew that Deran would never do it again. He wasn’t that kind of guy. Hell he hadn’t even gone after Dave himself – he had to ask Pope to do it.

Before he could respond Deran spoke up again. “And I have always cared. I know I was crap about showing it but I tried to tell you that night. Outside your shop. When it all went to shit. But then you didn’t want anything to do with him and I have tried to respect that. I was trying to give you what you wanted. But don’t think I don’t care. Because I do. I always have.”

Adrian was spinning. He wasn’t sure he had ever heard Deran be that honest before. Certainly not about him. 

“Now will you please tell me what the hell happened? Who did this to you?”

Adrian shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine. I-“

“Look you don’t want to tell me the truth fine. But don’t try and lie and say you’re fine. You look like you got run over by a car.”

Adrian let out a little laugh. “That’s actually not that far off the mark.”

He turned back around to the sink to finish the dishes. 

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“Adrian?” Deran tried again when he didn’t get an answer.

“I thought you said I don’t have to tell you.” Adrian heard Deran let out a sound of frustration behind him. 

“You don’t. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. But I can’t help you if I don’t know what happened.”

At this Adrian turned to face him. “Who said I wanted your help? I’m pretty sure any help you give will only make things worse. So just go. You checked up on me. I’m – well I’m not fine but I don’t need your help. I’ll handle my problems on my own.”

Deran stared at him. Adrian stared back. He was touched that Deran cared. That he had heard about what happened and come by to check on him. But he knew enough about the Codys to know that getting any of them involved would just make his problems worse. 

Eventually Deran nodded. He ran his hand over his face and turned to go. Before he went anywhere, however, he turned back around and took a step into the kitchen, closing the distance between the two of them.

“You call the shots ok. Whatever you want. But if you change your mind or if you need anything, let me know. Even if it’s just medicine or changing that bandage. Anything, okay?” Deran waited until Adrian nodded. “If you want me to leave and never come back then that’s what I’ll do. But if you -. Just -. Call me if you need anything. I’ll be right over.”

With that he left the kitchen and the apartment.

Adrian didn’t move for a long moment. 

He turned back to finish the dishes. All the while he was reeling from Deran’s parting words. 

Whatever I want.

I call the shots. 

It was the exact opposite of what he had said to Deran when they broke up. Then, it was Deran deciding who they were to each other and what that meant. It was always Deran. It felt odd to be on the other side. To be the one in a position to decide who they were. 

He knew that Deran had been changing. It was clear from the first time he’d seen him at his bar. He was trying to get out from under Smurf’s thumb. He had ambitions. Real ambitions of an honest life. For the first time in years, Deran was acting like the guy that Deran used to be. The guy he grew up with. The guy he fell in love with. It was refreshing to see. He had missed that guy. It was why he had asked him for drinks and why he brought him the photo and why he’d kissed him before he left. 

For all the changes he’d seen in Deran, Adrian never would have thought that they’d be here. That Deran would come to see him when he was hurt. That Deran would readily admit to caring about him and offering to be there for him. When Adrian had kissed him, he’d done it because he wanted to, because he liked the man that Deran was becoming. Not because he thought they would get back together.

Their relationship had been complicated. They’d been friends for over 10 years. They’d been having sex for almost half that time. But they never spoke about it. Deran always played it off like they were friends and nothing more. He would never admit that there was something more between them, despite the sex. He refused to tell anyone about them. In the early days, Adrian sometimes thought he was imagining in because of how adamantly Deran refused to acknowledge it.

They had had a few good moments, Belize came to mind, but they were few and far between. He loved Deran. He had accepted that a long time ago. But he never really thought that a real relationship was in the cards for them. No matter how much he may have wanted one.

Then again, he never thought that Deran would stand in his kitchen and hand over control of their relationship or offer to play nursemaid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i should hopefully have another chapter up today or tomorrow


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craig gets a whole lot more insight into his little brother's love life

Deran left.

Adrian asked him to and so he did. It killed him to leave him like that but he knew he didn’t have the right to force his presence on the other man. Not after everything.

He drove back to the bar deep in thought. Everything in him was screaming at him to fix this. To find whoever it was that hurt Adrian and make them pay for it. To make sure that no one else would ever hurt him again. But Adrian had asked him to stay out of it.

When he got to the bar he walked straight through the office in the back without talking to anyone. It was still standing so he figured he didn’t have anything to worry about just yet. 

He’d just sat down and reached for a bottle when the door opened behind him and Craig walked in.

“What happened man? I didn’t think you’d be back so soon.” 

“He doesn’t want me involved. Won’t even tell me what happened.” Deran told him.

“Shit. What are going to do?”

“Nothing. I just said he doesn’t want me involved.” Deran snapped at Craig.

“And you’re going to listen to him? Did you see the state he was in? You’re just gonna let that go?” Craig was surprised. He hadn’t thought that there was anything that would stop Deran from hunting down the guys responsible.

“Yeah I am. Look me and Adrian, we-“ Deran cut himself off. “Adrian calls the shots. If he doesn’t want me involved then I won’t be. I can’t go against him on this.”

Craig nodded. “Ok man. You want me to look into it? You can stay out of it.”

“No. No one gets into this. Adrian wants to deal with it on his own so we’re gonna let him.”

Craig raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious? You’re just gonna let him deal with this on his own? I call bullshit.”

“Look man, I can’t. I’ve done some things in the past where I went way across the line with him and I am trying to do better ok?”

“You are. You are doing better.” Craig tried to reassure his brother.

“Not what I meant. I’m trying to do better with him. And that means I listen to what he says. And yeah I want to get the guys who did this and make them pay for it. Of course I do. It’s driving me crazy to sit here and twiddle my fucking thumbs but he asked me to stay out of it and that’s what I’m gonna do. I told him if he changes his mind then I will be there but until then, I stay out of it. And so do you.” Deran looked at him. “Craig? Tell me you’ll leave this alone.”

“Yeah yeah of course. Whatever you say.” Craig assured him. 

Silence fell over the two of them. Craig pulled a chair over and sat down next to Deran.

“Ok I know we don’t do this but I feel like maybe we should.” Craig started.

“Do what?”

“Talk”

“You want to talk? About what?” Deran looked at Craig incredulously. 

“About you. And Adrian.” Deran started to shake his head. “No listen bro. We never talk about shit like this. And maybe that’s why you thought you couldn’t come to me or that I would hate you for being gay or whatever. I don’t know. But you are my brother and I love you and I need you to know that you can talk to me. Even if it’s kind of awkward.”

“I don’t need to talk about it.” 

“Have you ever? I mean I talk about girls and Baz has always overshared about Cath and Lucy and whoever and everyone knows all about Nicky but I don’t even know for sure how long you and Adrian were a thing.”

Deran didn’t respond. He played with the label on the bottle he’d grabbed but hadn’t taken a sip of yet.

“Alright. You don’t have to talk. But just know that you can if you ever want to ok?” Craig got up and put his chair back where he found it. He was headed back out to the bar to help Heather out when Deran spoke up.

“Four years. Give or take.”

Craig turned around, surprised. “Four years?”

“Mhmm”

“Huh. I guess I just always figured it started with Belize. You were different when you came back and I thought maybe that was it.”

“Belize was – Belize was the only time we didn’t have to hide it. No one knew us there. We went with a couple other surfers but they left after one week so we had a whole month to ourselves. No one knew us there so we didn’t have to hide.” Deran told him. “It was nice.”

“But here. With Smurf. I just-I couldn’t say anything. I was always too afraid of what would happen. If Smurf would kick me out. If you or Pope or Baz had a problem with it. I don’t even know anymore. The thought of it just fucking terrified me. But I couldn’t stay away from him so it got complicated. I wasn’t always a good person when it came to him. I’ve done some things. Said some things. I’ve hurt him. And now I just want it to be better.” Deran said without looking at him. Once he started talking it all kind of flowed out. Craig was right. He had never talked about this before and it was nice to get it all out.

“You love him.” Craig stated. It wasn’t a question. He had suspected it before but now he was sure.

Deran shrugged but didn’t deny it.

“So what happened?” 

“I hurt him. I uh I had Pope go after this guy he was starting to see. I scared him. He was afraid of what I would do to him. So I backed off. I couldn’t stand the thought of him being afraid of me.”

“And now? I know I’ve seen him in here a few times.” Getting his brother to talk felt like pulling teeth but Craig figured now might be his best chance to ever get all of the answers to the mystery that is Deran’s love life.

“Yeah. We’ve been hanging out a bit. Had a drink or two and talked. It’s been nice.” Deran paused then continued very quietly, “I’ve missed him.”

Craig didn’t know what to say to that. His own relationships never had much feeling to them. They were mostly sex and drugs. The idea of missing someone was foreign to him. 

“Was it just him? Or-?”

“Until we broke up or whatever it is we did yeah. There’ve been a few guys since I came out to Smurf. But nothing like Adrian.”

“So why haven’t you guys gotten back together? You’ve been doing so good and getting your life in order and shit.”

Deran huffed out a humorless laugh. “Because that’s not an option. I hurt him. I made him afraid of me. Why would he ever want to be with me? And why would I want him to be with me? It never ends well for people who get involved with this family. Just look at Cath for godssake. Look, he’s my best friend and I miss him but I don’t want him to get involved with me like that. He deserves to stay the hell away. And that’s why we are not getting involved with whatever is going on with him now. I don’t want him getting dragged into our bullshit. Ever.” By the end of it, Deran had turned and was facing Craig. He wanted to make sure that his brother understood. Adrian deserved better than a Cody. And while Deran wanted to help him, he wouldn’t drag him into their mess to do it.

“Alright Deran. I understand.” Craig promised him. For once he was solemn. The reminder of what happened to Cath drove Deran’s point home.

“Good.”

Deran was stopped from saying anything more when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and stared at it in surprise when Adrian’s name popped up.

“Dude answer it.” Craig told him. He could see the caller ID from where he was. 

Deran glared at him but hit the green button and put the phone up to his ear. 

“Hey”

“Were you serious earlier when you said you’d come if I needed anything?” Adrian’s voice came over the phone.

“Absolutely. What’s up?” Deran hurried to answer.

“I uh-I need to change the bandage on my arm but it’s kind of difficult for me to do by myself.” 

“I’ll be right over. Do you need anything? Medicine or bandages or something?” Deran asked as he stood up.

“No I’ve got everything. Just need another pair of hands.”

“Alright. I’m on my way.”

“Thanks”

Deran hung up the phone then turned to Craig. 

“I’ll stay and help out Heather. Don’t worry about the bar.” Craig assured him before Deran could ask. “Go help him.”

“Thanks. And uh could you like forget the conversation we just had? I don’t know what came over me but “

“No worries bro.”

Deran let a small smile and nodded before heading back through the bar. 

Craig waited until he was sure that Deran was gone before pulling out his own phone. He opened a new group text message for Baz, Pope, and J. 

From Craig – 7:14:

Meet me at Deran’s bar asap

He understood where Deran was coming from and he got why Adrian wouldn’t want their help. But like hell was Craig going to sit by and do nothing and let something else happen to the love of his little brother’s life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah Deran is a little OOC but I think he honestly needs to talk to someone and the most likely person would be Craig so while it's a little unusual I don't think it's totally out of left field
> 
> Also I am apparently in a writing mood today so there may even be a third chapter posted later


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craig gathers the rest of the Codys to make a plan to help Adrian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mention Pope's girlfriend here. Let's just pretend he didn't tell her the truth and they didn't break up.

J got to the bar less than an hour after Craig sent the text. Craig refused to say much until the others arrived so he camped out in the office.

Pope arrived around 10:00 after having taken Lena to his girlfriend’s house. With Smurf still in jail and the Codys all meeting at the bar, he had had to find someone else to watch her. 

Baz took the longest to arrive, to no one’s surprise. He walked in shortly before the bar closed at midnight to find the other three waiting for him. He wanted to jump right into whatever Craig wanted but the other man made him wait until the bar was closed and Heather had gone for the night. While Baz was a dick for making them all wait, Craig couldn’t deny that it made it easier to have a private conversation with the place closed. Thankfully, Deran had never returned from his second trip out to Adrian’s so Craig didn’t have to worry about keeping this meeting from him.

Once the bar was locked up, Pope and J gravitated to the bar where Baz was waiting.

“Alright what’s this all about?” Baz asked testily. He didn’t like being summoned.

“We have a small problem.” Craig began. 

“What’d you do?” Baz asked.

Craig glared at him. “Nothing. If you’d shut up for a minute I can tell you what’s going on.” He paused, waiting for Baz to interject again but Baz just waved him on. Pope and J stayed quiet.

“Someone roughed up Adrian pretty bad.” Craig told the others.

“Deran’s friend?” Baz questioned. “So what? Why is that a problem for us?”

“Does Deran know?” Pope asked.

“Yeah. He talked to him already. Adrian doesn’t want us to get involved.” Craig answered.

“Well great then what the fuck are we doing here?” Baz asked.

“We’re here because Adrian’s hurt and whatever he’s into he can’t deal with on his own. So we’re gonna help him.” Craig told Baz. 

“But if he doesn’t want our help what can we do?” questioned J.

“Nothing! We do nothing. This isn’t our problem.” Said Baz.

“How bad is he?” asked Pope.

Baz tried to respond but Craig cut him off. “Pretty bad. He was in the hospital for a week. He got out a week ago but a couple of days ago someone beat him up again. So whatever it was wasn’t a one time thing.”

“Someone want to tell me why this guy is our problem?” Baz yelled. He didn’t get why the others cared about Deran’s friend.

“Because Deran loves him.” Pope stated simply. “Craig, J had a point. If he doesn’t want our help, what can we do?”

“Woah wait what? Deran loves the guy?” Baz was confused. 

The other three turned to look at him. He looked back. “What did I miss?”

“Deran’s gay.” Pope told him.

“Yeah, I know. I’m not an idiot.” Baz said. “But since when does that mean he’s in love with his friend?”

“Since they were together for like four years.” Craig said.

Now he was the object of the other three’s stares. 

“They’re together?” Baz asked.

“Four years?” J asked.

“Look we’re getting off topic. Yes, Deran’s gay. Yes, he and Adrian were together for a while. Yes, Deran loves him. Yes, Adrian asked us not to get involved. And yes, we are going to help anyway because I, for one, am not going to sit by and let something happen to the guy my little brother’s in love with. Does anyone have a problem with that?” Craig looked around at the other three. 

J simply nodded. He had already had this discussion with Craig earlier.

“Of course,” said Pope. Craig had been reasonably sure that the eldest Cody would help but it was nice to have it confirmed.

Once again, Craig, Pope, and J turned to look at Baz. He shrugged his shoulders and put his hands up a bit. “Yeah ok, whatever. I’m in. But what exactly do you want us to do?”

“Find out everything we can. Don’t do anything yet except recon. Figure out what happened to him, who did it, and why. J can keep an eye on him in case they come back but other than that we stay out of the way. If Adrian changes his mind and decides he does want our help I want us to be ready.” Craig laid out the plan and looked around. The other three nodded to show that they were in agreement. “Alright, when I talked to him he said that some guys offered him a sponsorship while he was at a surfing competition but he turned it down. Then when he did better than expected, those guys blamed him for them losing money. So we need to figure out what sponsor they were with.”

“And how do you plan to do that? Did he give you a name or anything?” Baz asked.

“No. I don’t even know where he was at.”

“You said he was in the hospital, right? Can we search his medical records? Figure out what hospital he was, we figure out what city. Then we just have to find the sponsors listed at the closest surfing competition two weeks ago.” Pope proposed.

“Alright you do that. Let me know if you need anything else from me.” Baz said. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Wait.” Craig called out to stop Baz before he got to the door. “Don’t tell Deran about this. I’ll let him know when he needs to know but he didn’t want us going against Adrian’s wishes so we keep him out of it.”

“Fine” Baz let out before he left.

Craig turned back to face Pope and J.

“So my part in this is just to tail the guy and make sure those guys don’t come back for round 3?” J asked.

“Basically, yeah”

“Alright. I’ll check in on him in the morning.” J grabbed his jacket and followed Baz out the door.

“What’s Adrian’s last name?” Pope asked. “I’ll need it to search for his records.”

Craig thought for a moment. “Clark. I’m pretty sure it’s Adrian Clark.”

Pope nodded. He made his own exit without a goodbye. 

Craig stood in the empty bar and ran a hand over his face. He hoped he was doing the right thing here.


	7. Chapter 7

This time Deran walked in through the front door. He’d found it unlocked when he tried it so he didn’t bother with knocking. The apartment was much like he had left it barely an hour before: quiet and mostly dark. Even the light in the kitchen was now off. The only signs of life came from the bathroom at the end of the hall. 

Deran looked in the open door. Adrian was sitting on the closed toilet seat with his shirt off trying to unwrap his bandaged arm. Deran knocked gently on the doorframe.

Adrian glanced up at him. “You came.” He seemed surprised to see him. 

Deran raised an eyebrow. “You asked.”

Adrian smiled a little and nodded. “I did. Still wasn’t sure you’d actually come though.” He turned back to his arm. He’d gotten it unwrapped from his wrist to just above his elbow but he seemed to be having trouble getting it undone beyond that. “Can you help me unwrap this? I think there is some tape or something holding it together but it’s on the back of my arm and I can’t reach it.”

Deran came into the bathroom. It was a small room and to get to Adrian’s arm he needed to crouch down next to the toilet. The action put him right inside Adrian’s personal bubble. Deran sucked in a breath. Despite the kiss they had shared a few weeks ago, this was the closest they had been in months and Adrian being half naked wasn’t helping matters. He focused instead on Adrian’s injuries. This close, he could clearly see the abrasions and bruising. He could tell that both were well on their way to being healed but the fact that he could still see the extent of the injury worried him. He still wasn’t sure how long ago Adrian had been hurt but some of the bruises looked yellowish which indicated that it had been awhile. Then again, some of the bruises were still dark purple. The thought of someone hurting Adrian this badly made his blood boil. 

He pushed those thoughts aside for now and focused on Adrian’s bandage. He could see the medical tape holding it in place. It was clearly placed where Adrian would not be able to get to it on his own. As he reached out to remove it he asked, “Why did they put it here? You need to change the bandage every so often but you can’t reach the tape where it’s at.”

“They wanted me to come back to the hospital to get it looked at. I was supposed to check in every other day. To get it looked at and get the bandages changed.” Adrian responded softly. He winced a little as Deran started to unwrap the bandage and it pulled away from his skin.

“So why didn’t you go to the hospital?” Deran asked. He stayed focused on what he was doing. If he’d learned anything today it was that it was easier to have conversations if he wasn’t looking at the other person.

“No insurance.” Adrian said simply. “I’ll be paying off the bills from the first stay for a while yet and I don’t need to add any more expenses to the list. I’m fine on my own.”

He rolled his shoulder a bit. Deran had just finished removing the last bit of bandage from his arm where it wrapped around the shoulder joint and this was the first time in a week or so he could move it freely. It hurt but it wasn’t as bad as it had been. 

Deran rocked back a bit and leaned on the wall behind him. He stared in silence at the marks on Adrian’s arm. There was a deep gouge wrapping all the way around it from his wrist to his shoulder. It looked like someone had wrapped a wire around it and let it dig in deep. Deran could clearly see where the stitches had been. It looked like his skin had been sewn back together. The cuts were varying shades of red, with some looking more inflamed, particularly near his shoulder.

At first, Adrian let Deran look. He knew it wasn’t a pretty sight. He was still getting used to it himself. He’d only seen his bare arm a handful of times since the accident. But after a few minutes of Deran’s silent staring he pulled his arm closer to him and tried to tuck it away. “Thanks for the help but I think I’ve got it from here.” 

This seemed to shock Deran into action. He stood up from where he had been crouched. “There’s no way you can replace that bandage on your own.” He took two steps over to the sink. Adrian had left a bunch of supplies laid out on the surface but Deran couldn’t see any bandages. 

“Deran, really, I’ve got it from here.” Adrian tried to protest. 

Deran turned and looked at him. “No you don’t. And that’s ok. I told you I would be here if you needed anything and you called me and asked for my help. Now I’m here so let me help.”

Adrian just looked at him. He could tell that Deran was being honest. And earnest. He wanted to help Adrian which just confused him. Deran had never shown any desire to stick around before and now when he was clearly freaked out by the state of Adrian’s arm, he was putting up a fight to stay when Adrian was trying to give him an out.

Deciding to deal with this later, Adrian shrugged and stood up from the toilet. “Alright, stay. But I need to take a shower first. I’ve been using a wet towel for the past week and I feel gross. The bandages are out on the table. I’ll just be a few minutes.”

Deran nodded. He turned to leave. “I’ll just be outside then. Yell if you need anything.” He pulled the door closed behind him but left it open a crack so that he could hear Adrian if he shouted. 

Alone in the bathroom, Adrian picked up the used bandages and threw them away before turning on the shower. He quickly undressed and stepped in. Showering was a bit trickier than he had imagined. He was trying to only use his right hand to clean himself while keeping his left arm out of the direct spray of water. The force of the water hitting his wounds directly stung like hell.

All told, it took more than the few minutes he had promised. He didn’t realize how long he was taking until he heard Deran knock on the door to check on him. “Everything ok in there?” Came Deran’s voice from the doorway. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Be done in a sec.” Adrian assured the other man. True to his word, he shut off the water barely a minute later. 

He stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack on the wall. He patted his left arm dry quickly, not caring if he got it completely dry or not. He figured Deran would dry it off more carefully when he put the bandage on later. As he started to towel off the rest of his body he quickly realized a problem. It had been a few hours since he last took medication for his arm and because he had been careful not to move it took much when removing the bandage and in the shower, his arm had started to stiffen up. Moving it now caused a lot more pain than it should. Adrian could feel the skin around the stitches pull every time he moved his left arm. 

Adrian stood in the middle of his bathroom dripping onto the floor mat with a towel in his hand. He was trying to figure out how to finish drying off and get dressed with the use of only one arm. He decided that he would do his best he could and then just get dressed in sweats. Problem was, he hadn’t brought them into the bathroom with him earlier. The only clothes he had with him now were his dirty boxers and his cargo shorts that he had been wearing earlier. Adrian wasn’t sure he could pull on and fasten the shorts one handed. 

The only option left was to somehow get to his bedroom and find his sweatpants. With Deran sitting at the table between him and his room. No problem. 

Adrian did his best to dry off with the towel in his hand. When he felt he was dry enough that he wouldn’t drip water everywhere, he moved to wrap the towel around his waist. It became apparent very quickly that that was impossible without his left arm. He tried to move it but the pain stopped him short. 

He sighed deeply then placed the towel over his crotch and used his foot to open the door. He would just go quickly into the bedroom. If Deran happened to get an eyeful while he did so…well it wasn’t like it would be the first time. 

Adrian had only taken a few steps out of the bathroom when he came face to face with Deran. The other man was leaning against the wall in the hallway with a roll of bandages in one hand and medical tape in the other. He quirked an eyebrow at Adrian’s appearance. Adrian could only flush bright red. 

“I uh-I forgot to bring clothes with me so-“ Adrian offered in explanation. He turned slightly so he could shuffle past Deran without baring his backside to him.

“And you couldn’t just ask me to bring them to you?” Deran questioned. His voice was light with silent laughter. He hadn’t made any effort to move out of the way.

Adrian froze. He would have slapped himself if he could. How had that not even occurred to him? 

He hung his head briefly before straightening up and looking Deran in the eyes. Deran’s eyes twinkled with amusement in a way that Adrian hadn’t seen for a long time. It was a good look on him. 

It was like a switch flipped in his head. Adrian took stock of his current situation. He was standing in his hallway with his ex-whatever, naked except for a strategically placed towel. His ex who he had kissed relatively recently. His ex who had intimated that he was still interested in Adrian. Well. He could either view this as a highly embarrassing situation or he could use it to his advantage. It didn’t Adrian long to decide which he preferred. 

He quirked a small smile then reached up and handed his towel to Deran. Deran took the towel numbly and started to flush as he took in the fully naked Adrian across a narrow hallway from him. But he didn’t avert his eyes, Adrian noted. 

“I could have. This was more fun.” Adrian answered Deran’s previous question then turned and walked shamelessly to his bedroom. He left Deran staring after him. 

\----------------------------------

Adrian hadn’t closed the door. Deran could see clearly into the bedroom has the other man pulled a pair of sweatpants out of the dresser and pulled them on. He noticed that Adrian didn’t use his left arm at any point. He tried not to notice that Adrian hadn’t put on any underwear. 

Deciding that he shouldn’t be spying on Adrian (even if he had left the door wide open). He turned back to the bathroom to hang up the towel Adrian had used. He found a tube of antibiotic cream and a pack of gauze under the sink. He grabbed both and headed back to the table and unloaded. He had planned on doing this in the bathroom after Adrian finished his shower but now he thought a larger space would do him some good. 

He wasn’t sure how to feel about what had happened in the hallway. While the sight of Adrian’s naked body was never a bad thing in his mind, the sight of the other man covered in wounds had tempered the good mood they had begun to foster. Though he had to admit that the front of him was not so battered. Aside from the bruising on the outside of his left leg and some abrasions on his chest, Adrian looked mostly fine from the front. And Deran might have let his gaze wander a little lower than his chest. But when Adrian had walked away, Deran could more clearly see that the wounds on his back did indeed go further. His left side was bruised all the way down to his legs. And the abrasions weren’t much better. Deran wanted to be aroused by a naked Adrian but the battered body he had seen was anything but arousing. 

Adrian was doing his head in. And spending time here was not helping. This apartment was where they always met up. For sex, yes but also for just spending time with each other away from everyone else. It was full of memories. Some good. Some great. But also some bad. 

He glanced back at the bathroom door. The small room was where Adrian had told him about Dave. _Fucking Dave_. That was the start of the end of them. 

He turned away and focused back on the table for a second before he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned the other direction. Adrian was leaning against the wall with his good shoulder, watching him. His chest was still bare and his sweatpants hung low on him, reminding Deran that he was not wearing anything underneath. 

He cleared his throat. “All set? I think I’ve got everything we need for your arm.” He gestured with his hand to the table. The bandages, medical tape, antibiotic cream, and gauze were all clearly laid out. 

Adrian nodded and pushed away from the wall. He thankfully did not say anything about what had happened in the hallway. He just pulled out a chair. Before he sat down though, he asked “Did you get the scissors? And the painkillers?”

Deran looked around then quickly stepped into the kitchen to grab a pair of scissors. He returned holding them up for Adrian to see. The other man nodded. “The meds were in the bathroom. Bottom row of the medicine cabinet.” Deran nodded and quickly retrieved the small bottle. 

He handed Adrian the bottle then went back into the kitchen for a glass of water. Adrian smiled gratefully when Deran handed it to him and he quickly swallowed back a few pills. Deran then returned the glass to the kitchen. When he came back to the table Adrian had taken a seat and was trying to open the package of gauze. Deran reached out and gently took it from him, tearing it open with ease. “Your arm bothering you?”

Adrian looked down at the offending limb. “It’s just really stiff right now. Only hurts when I try to move it. Most of the time it’s ok as long as I take the meds.” Deran nodded as he pulled out some gauze patches. He stood there holding them in his hands looking at Adrian before he realized he had no idea what he was doing.

Adrian seemed to realize this. He huffed out a little laugh as he reached up to take one of the patches from Deran. He placed it back on the table. “At this point I just need to keep it clean and covered so it doesn’t get infected. So first things first, we need to put antibiotic cream on the whole thing.”

Deran nodded and put down the gauze he still held. Adrian picked up the tube of cream. He made to try and unscrew the lid but Deran took it from him and opened it. Adrian glared up at him. “I’m not completely useless.”

Deran hung his head. “Yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Adrian didn’t respond but he did soften his look. “I can get most of the cut but I can’t reach the parts on the back of the arm once it gets past my elbow.” Deran nodded and squirted some of the cream onto the finger Adrian reached out. He watched silently as Adrian rubbed the cream into his cut. It took a few minutes before Adrian finished the parts that he could reach. When he was done, he reached out for the tube in Deran’s hand.

Deran reached out his hand for his own small helping of the cream. When he had a dollop of it on his finger he picked up Adrian’s arm and tried to turn it over so he could get to the other parts of the cut. He stopped when he saw Adrian wince. “What’s wrong?”

“Can you not turn my arm that way?” Adrian asked. He looked up at Deran. The concerned look in the other man’s eyes still surprised him. 

Deran looked at him. He took in Adrian’s arm and his position in the chair. “Can you sit on the table? I might be able to get a better angle on the back of your arm without turning it around.” Adrian nodded and hopped up on the table. It creaked a bit but he wasn’t worried. He turned slightly so that he was facing away from Deran. 

The new position worked out a lot better. Deran was able to finish applying the cream in no time and without hurting Adrian too much. Neither man said anything while he worked, both utterly conscious of every contact. When he was finished, Adrian turned back to face him and picked up the gauze they had previously discarded. “OK. Now you need to put a piece of gauze over every part of it that looks like it might be infected. You can use the tape to hold it in place. Once you’re done, you’ll need to wrap it all up with the bandages. That should hold the gauze in place and cover up all of the other spots.”

Deran took the gauze from him and looked at his arm. “You realize that about 90% of this looks infected, right? It’s all really red.” 

Adrian shrugged. “I know. I don’t think it’s infected though. Like it’s not hot.” He laid a hand on a patch of particularly red skin to demonstrate his words. “I think I just irritated it while I was working.”

“And why was that? If it’s bothering you so much you can’t get dressed, why are you working on it?” Deran asked. He sounded angry.

“Because I need the money. You do remember what I said about the hospital bills right?” Adrian said defensively.

“I can give you some money-“ Deran started to offer. 

“I don’t want your money!” Adrian cut him off angrily. “I thought I made myself clear! I don’t-“

“You don’t want my help. Right, yeah, I got that.” Deran talked over him. “And yet here I am. Helping. Because you asked for my help.”

“This is different.” Adrian countered. “I don’t want any part of what your family does. And I definitely am not taking any of your money.”

The two of them glared at each other but neither moved from where they had been when Deran first opened his mouth. Adrian was perched on the table with Deran practically between his legs. Eventually, Deran turned back to the task at hand. He was gentle as he covered up the wounds and wrapped Adrian’s arm with gauze. It took him some time but neither of them spoke again as he worked. This time, the silence was tense.

When Deran finished he started to pack up the supplies and took them back into the bathroom, making sure to put everything back where it belonged. That he didn’t have to ask Adrian where things went simply served to remind both men that Deran knew his way around Adrian’s home. 

When Deran returned to the table he found Adrian in the same place he left him. The other man hadn’t moved an inch. The two stared at each other, each daring the other to break the silence. 

Deran scrubbed his foot along the floor and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Do you need help with anything else?” Adrian just shook his head. There was nothing he could do for the abrasions and the bruises would fade on their own. Deran nodded. “Then I guess I’m gonna head out. If you need anything else…” He trailed off.

Deran patted his pockets to make sure he still had his phone and keys on him then turned to go. He’d almost made it to the front door when he heard his name come from behind him and made him pause. It was so faint he thought maybe he’d imagined it. When nothing followed he reached for the doorknob and pulled the door open. He turned around one last time as he stepped outside and spotted Adrian standing in the hallway with the light from the eating area illuminating him from behind. He was cast in shadow so Deran couldn’t make out the look on Adrian’s face but the other man stayed silent so Deran gave a little wave and pulled the door closed.

\-----------------

Adrian stayed where he was. He hadn’t meant to call out Deran’s name as the man left. He hadn’t thought he’d said it loud enough for Deran to hear him but he had heard the other man pause in the hallway so he knew he had. 

He hesitated from saying anything more. He heard the front door open and he got up from the table and went to stand in the hallway. He watched as Deran walked outside and turned around to face him. He stayed where he was. Deran waved and closed the door and still Adrian stayed where he was. 

Deran had been a revelation tonight. At the height of their relationship, Adrian would have bet good money that Deran would never stoop to playing his nursemaid. But now, now that they weren’t anything to each other, Deran was right there helping him out. Bandaging his wounds. Taking care of him. 

Before he’d left for the competition, Adrian had been confused about where they stood with each other. They’d definitively ended their sexual relationship and pretty much their friendship too. But recently they had sat down for drinks together a few times and talked a bit and it seemed like they could maybe be friends again. Deran had changed. It was plain to see and Adrian had liked what he’d seen. So when he’d left he had kissed him. He hadn’t thought that it would mean anything. Deran hadn’t acted like it would mean anything. It was just a kiss. 

But now. Now things were even more confusing. And something told Adrian that he needed to stop Deran now if he ever wanted a chance of them having something more in the future. But the question then was, did he want something more? Did he really want to get involved with Deran Cody again? 

\-----------

Adrian opened his front door and stepped outside. He looked over the railing in front of him and into the parking lot below. He could see Deran sitting in his car. He hadn’t left yet. He hadn’t even turned the car on. Deran looked up at the sound of the door opening. For a moment they looked at each other in the silence of the night. And then, “Come back inside.” 

Adrian turned around and went back into his apartment. Deran hurried out of his car and up the stairs. He had left the door open. Deran followed him in and closed the door behind him. 

He found Adrian standing next to the table. He faced away from Deran but had clearly heard him come in after him. The two stood in silence, one trying to find the right words while the other was too afraid to speak.

Adrian took a deep breath. He turned and looked Deran in the eyes. “I might need some help during the night. To save you the trouble of coming over at some godawful time I figured you could crash on the couch.” He offered. “If you want to that is.”

Deran furrowed his eyebrows, a bit confused. “Um yeah. I can do that. You sure?”

Adrian nodded. “I’m going to go to bed because I am exhausted. And tomorrow morning you and I are going to sit down and have a conversation like adults because I am so confused right now and I’d really like to straighten things out.”

Deran nodded back. “Ok.”

“Ok.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the boys talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reuploading because somehow I cut off the first ~800 words when I posted it

Adrian woke up the next morning to the lingering smell of smoke and a chill in the air. It was early yet, the first rays of sunlight just starting to come through the window. He eased himself out of bed. He’d gotten used to the bruises but the scrape of the abrasions against the sheets still hurt so he was always extra gentle getting in and out of the bed.

Years of surfing early mornings had conditioned him to wake up in the morning, a fact for which he was thankful for right now. No one wanted to wake up smelling smoke in their home. He followed the smell into the kitchen. It was a disaster. There were pans on the stove with charred remnants of food in them. He checked the sink and saw plates with piles of blackened food that had once maybe been eggs and sausage. Feeling the chill again, he looked up and saw that the window over the sink had been opened, presumably to let the kitchen air out. 

He left the kitchen and wandered into the living room looking for Deran. Unless someone had broken into his home to burn breakfast, the other man was likely to blame for the state of his kitchen. He found the couch empty with the blanket folded over the back. His call for Deran returned nothing. Deran was gone. 

Adrian let out a breath. He wanted to say he wasn’t surprised but he was. He really thought Deran would be here in the morning. Though judging by the state of his kitchen, the other man had only left relatively recently. Maybe he was embarrassed by his lack of culinary skills. 

Adrian ran a hand through his hair and went to the bathroom. He relieved himself and brushed his teeth before pulling out the pill bottle. He didn’t have a glass in the bathroom so he just cupped his hand and filled it with water. That taken care of he decided he might as well clean up the kitchen now. No sense in putting it off.

He’d just started to fill the sink with water when he heard the front door. Curious, he turned the faucet off and went into the hallway. To his surprise, he saw Deran struggling to close to pull the key out of the lock with both of his hands full. Adrian hurried over to help him.

When he saw Adrian, Deran froze. He didn’t stop Adrian from taking one of the bags, though. It wasn’t until Adrian called his name that he seemed to remember what he was doing. Adrian let him close the door and put his keys down on the side table while he took the bag into the kitchen. Under the light he could see the that it was a McDonald’s bag. Deran came in behind him and placed a bag of groceries on the counter. Adrian looked at the bag and then back at Deran.

Deran rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. I um- I figured I should replace the crap I burnt. And I know McDonald’s isn’t your favorite but I didn’t think it was a good idea for me to try cooking again so” he trailed off nervously. Adrian still hadn’t said anything. “Don’t worry. I’ll clean it up. I just wanted to get us some actual food first and I didn’t think you’d be up yet. I was trying to have food ready when you were.”

Adrian looked around his kitchen again. He could clearly see Deran’s attempts to make him breakfast. It was surprising on so many levels; he knew Deran was a godawful cook and better yet he knew that Deran knew and yet Deran had tried to make him something himself. This was also the first time that Deran had stayed the night and not rushed off first thing. What surprised him even more was that Deran had taken the time to go out in the early morning and not just buy breakfast for them both but also to replace the food he ruined. All of which was the mark of a man who genuinely cared about him. 

Adrian couldn’t resist. He stepped into Deran’s space and cupped his chin before pulling him in for a kiss. 

It was only a quick kiss but neither man moved after they pulled away. One side of Deran’s mouth quirked up in an attempt at a smile. “Was that because I said I’d clean up?”

Adrian laughed. “No. It was because you tried to make me breakfast. And because you’re here. I don’t think you’ve ever been here in the morning.” Deran looked away. 

The moment was broken and Adrian stepped back. He still had the McDonald’s bag in his hand so he gripped it tighter and went to the table. “There should be some bottles of water in the fridge.” He called back into the kitchen. It was a moment before he heard the refrigerator door open and shut and moment more before Deran joined him. 

They ate in silence. When they were both finished, Deran gathered their trash and threw it away before sitting back down. Adrian had started to get up but when he saw Deran sit down, he settled back into his chair. He quirked an eyebrow at Deran in question.

“You said we would talk in the morning.” Deran told him. “It’s morning.”

Adrian glanced out the window as if to confirm that it was in fact morning. He knew they needed to talk. Hell he was the one who asked Deran to stay with the express purpose of talking today. But he thought he’d have a little bit more time. Part of him wanted Deran to initiate this conversation but the majority of him knew that if he waited on Deran he’d be waiting for a while.

He took a moment and closed his eyes, steeling himself before turning back to Deran. The other man was simply gazing at him. Adrian couldn’t quite make out the look on his face. 

“Deran,” he began softly. The apartment was quiet around them and he was loathe to break it. “What is going on?”

Deran huffed a quick laugh. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

Adrian rolled his eyes. “I meant between us.” Deran didn’t answer right away. So Adrian kept talking. It was like once he started, now he could let it all out. “You are confusing me. For years, years Deran, you acted like you could barely stand to be around me. Unless we were having sex that is. And then there was the bathroom at the beach. And Dave. It was like-it was like you were really and truly a Cody and I hated it. But now. With the bar and everything. With all your talk of getting out and making something of yourself, it’s been-” Adrian cut himself off. It was hard to articulate exactly what he meant. 

Deran didn’t respond. He’d started playing with his hands on the table and his gaze was fixed upon them. So Adrian continued. “And yesterday. What was that? I’ve known you for most of my life, man, and I would have bet good money that there wasn’t a chance in hell of you taking care of me when I was hurt. But you were good. Hell you were great. And then this morning you tried to make me breakfast?” He looked at Deran. Deran still didn’t look up. He huffed out a laugh. “Man we both know you are an absolute disaster in the kitchen. But I appreciate that you tried. And that you went out and bought actual food to eat.” He smiled at Deran. He could see the corner of Deran’s mouth turn up but he didn’t say anything. 

Adrian leaned back in his chair. He’d started the conversation but he wouldn’t carry it by himself. Deran was going to have to participate too. 

After a long moment, when it became obvious that Adrian wasn’t going to say anything further, Deran leaned forward. He still didn’t look at Adrian, though. “I was an asshole. For years. I have no excuse but that I was a dick. I was-” He cut himself off and ran a hand over his face. “Fuck, I was scared. Of Smurf. Of my family. I didn’t-” He stopped again. 

Adrian leaned forward and reached a hand across the table. He put his hand next to Deran’s but didn’t touch him just yet. “I know Deran. I get it.”

Deran looked up at him then. “I’m sorry Adrian. I should’ve-I shouldn’t’ve let Smurf control me like that.” He spat out her name like a curse. Which honestly, Adrian understood. “I should’ve been better. To you. You deserved better.” When he finished, he tore his gaze from Adrian’s and looked back at his hands. 

Adrian didn’t move. He was shocked. He never expected Deran to apologize for him. Oh Deran had said the words before, particularly after the incident in the bathroom, but he always seemed to just be saying it to say it. Now he seemed like he meant it.

Adrian opened his mouth to say something but Deran spoke up first. “After Dave, you made it clear that you were done with me. That you didn’t want anything to do with me. And I got it. I still get it. If I were you I wouldn’t want anything to do with me either. But then you came to the bar. And you asked me out for drinks. I mean-you asked me.” He emphasized that last point. “And I started to think. Maybe you didn’t completely hate me. Maybe we could be friends again. Like we used to.” Deran kept talking in disjointed sentences, like he could only get a few words out at a time. “I missed that. I missed you.”

Adrian almost missed that last part. Deran had said it so quietly. Adrian moved his hand the last few inches to cover Deran’s. Deran looked up at him. “I missed you too.” He told him. 

Neither man said anything for a few minutes. Nor did they move. 

Deran broke the silence. “When Craig told me that you were hurt, it was like I saw red. The idea of you being hurt just-I couldn’t stand it. I thought maybe he was screwing with me. But then when I got here and I saw you it was like all that anger sort of faded away and I was just upset. I was upset that someone had hurt you. That you had been hurt. I mean don’t get me wrong I’m still angry at whoever did this but-” He cut himself off again. “All I know is that I saw you. Saw the bruises and the bandage and I just wanted to make you not hurt anymore. That’s all that mattered. So when you asked me to come over and help I did.” This was the first time that Deran had looked at Adrian while he talked and Adrian was slightly overwhelmed. “And as for the breakfast, well. You let me sleep on your couch. Figured the least I could do was make you something to eat.” 

Adrian let his words sink in for a bit. This was probably the most that Deran had ever said, to anyone, at one time before. 

“Thank you.” Deran looked at him. That didn’t seem to be the reaction he expected. “For helping me. For sticking around in case I needed more help. For breakfast. The last 24 hours-” Adrian paused. He could hardly believe it had only been a day since this whole thing started. “It’s been nice to know that you care.”

Deran looked down at where Adrian’s hand still rested on his own. He flipped his hand over so that he could grasp Adrian’s back. He kept his eyes on their joined hands. It would be easier to say the next part if he wasn’t looking at Adrian. “I do care. I care about you a lot Adrian. More than anyone outside my family. Honestly maybe more than some, most, of my family. I’m sorry that I was so shitty that you didn’t know that. I’ve cared about you for years.” 

Adrian let out a laugh. Deran curled in on himself and started to pull his hand away but Adrian gripped it tight. Deran looked at him. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to laugh. It’s just-I never would’ve imagined us having this conversation.” Deran smiled a little. He likely never anticipated having this conversation either. “If only we could have done this years ago.”

Deran shook his head. “I couldn’t have done this years ago. Not when I was still living with Smurf. Not when I was still scared of her reaction. I needed to get out. To start something of my own. You know, stand on my own two feet or whatever, before I could start being honest. But after I told Smurf that I was gay. Well, let’s just say telling you I care about you doesn’t seem so scary after that.” 

Adrian laughed again. “I’m glad I’m less scary than Smurf.” Deran smiled. “For the record? I care about you too. I don’t think I’ve ever said it before but it’s true.” 

Deran shook his head. “You may not have said it but I knew. I think that was part of why it scared me. I knew it wouldn’t just be me and if we both admitted it then we couldn’t sneak around anymore.”

Adrian hummed in response. He wasn’t sure he agreed. He thought Deran would have snuck around forever if Adrian let him. He had had a breaking point. But he thought he understood what Deran was trying to say.

A comfortable silence fell over them. “So what now?” Deran asked.

“I don’t know.” Adrian admitted. 

Deran looked at him carefully. “The ball’s in your court. Whatever you want.”

Adrian shook his head. “No. It should be whatever we want. No one gets to call all the shots here.”

Deran shrugged. “I would like for you to be a part of my life. If we’re friends then great, I miss my best friend. If we’re more...well that would be great too.” His face started to flush. 

Adrian looked at him, surprised. For all their talk this morning, he hadn’t expected Deran to come out and ask for more. “By more, do you mean dating? Like in public? No sneaking around and pretending we barely know each other?” He needed to clarify. If he was even going to consider this, and he wanted to, he really did, then he needed to make sure that they were on the same page. 

Deran met his eyes. And nodded. “I’m done hiding.” Adrian smiled. He watched as Deran started to flush more and ducked his head. “And I might have already told Craig that I was in-” Deran cut himself off before he could say anything more but Adrian could finish his sentence just fine. He smiled to himself. He didn’t think they were at the point where they could admit that to each other yet but it was nice to know that Deran was being honest with his brother. 

“Let’s just take this slow.” Adrian suggested. “Spend some time together and see how it goes?”

Deran nodded. “I can do that.”

Adrian smiled at him. Belatedly he realized that they were still holding hands so he gave a quick squeeze before letting go. He started to get up but stopped at Deran’s voice.

“Do I get to ask questions now?” Adrian paused before lowering himself back into the chair. He gave Deran a questioning look. “What happened to you?”

Adrian sighed and closed his eyes. He should have expected this. Foolishly he had anticipated this conversation being all about _them _not about him.__

__“Adrian,” Deran said softly, “tell me what happened to you. Please.”_ _

__Adrian opened his eyes and looked at Deran. It was the please that did it. “I uh-it’s complicated.” He tried._ _

__“I’ve got time. Bar doesn’t open for like 10 hours.” Deran told him._ _

__“That’s great but the shop opens soon and I should really get to work.” He tried again._ _

__“So call your coworker and ask him to open. He’ll do it. He was worried about you too.”_ _

__Adrian sighed. Oscar was a good guy and he knew that he’d cover for him. But he really didn’t want to have this conversation. But he knew that if he and Deran were going to try to have any kind of real relationship, then they would need to be honest with each other. He got up and walked back to the bedroom. When he returned to the table Deran hadn’t moved except to hang his head._ _

__Adrian typed out a quick text to Oscar and put his phone on the table before sitting down. “I made a bad deal.” Deran looked up at him then but Adrian held up his hand to stop him from speaking. He needed to get this all out before Deran said anything._ _

__“I was approached by a sponsor at a competition a couple of weeks ago. He offered me a deal. It wasn’t a bad deal. In fact it was great. Too great. So I told him I’d think about it.” Adrian was fidgeting with his fingers, not looking at Deran. He could feel Deran’s eyes on him. “The next day I did well. I got 2nd in the finals. Apparently I beat another surfer who was sponsored by this guy. And according to the sponsorship deal, my winning cost the sponsor a lot of money. And since I beat his guy and refused his offer, he seemed to think that I owed him money. If I’d accepted or if the other guy beat me, he would’ve made like $10,000 off of it. And so he felt like I owed it to him.” He paused here. Deran started to talk but Adrian just shook his head. He wasn’t finished._ _

__“If it was just the 10 grand I could’ve given it to him. The purse for second place was $15,000 so it wouldn’t have been too bad. I still would’ve made out ok. But apparently when I refused his sponsorship he told all of his friends that I was a shit surfer and so all of his buddies placed bets against me. Turns out getting second was enough for them all to lose their money.” Adrian let out a hollow laugh. “I didn’t even know people bet on small time competitions. It’s not like I was competing in the big leagues or anything. But altogether this guy and his friends are under the impression that I personally cost them over $100,000 and I’m supposed to pay them back. I told him no. I’m not responsible for his bad bets, you know?” Deran leaned over and put his hand on Adrian’s to stop the fidgeting. Adrian let out a breath._ _

__“He had some guys jump me. They tied a wire around my arm and hooked it to the back of his car. He drove a couple of blocks before they stopped and cut the wire. They uh-they left me lying in the road. Some cops came and found me after like an hour. I guess someone called them. But the guy’s name came up fake and I didn’t have anything else on them so they said there was nothing else they could do. I spent a week in the hospital. The day I got discharged the guy was standing by my car. He told me I had 2 weeks to pay him back. Then he was coming for my other arm.” Adrian squeezed his left hand. He knew his whole arm was fucked. He’d been pushing it lately so that he could work and he knew that he would likely have issues with it for the rest of his life. He couldn’t imagine if the same thing happened to his right arm._ _

__“I’ve been working as many hours as I can since I got back. I don’t have that much in savings but I was going to give him what I could. If the cops can’t help, what else am I supposed to do? Some of his friends showed up at the shop a couple of days ago. Turns out they want more than just the money they lost back. They want interest. It’s how I got this.” He gestured to his eye. “So I’ve got about five days to get about $100,000 dollars.”_ _

__When he was finished, he finally looked at Deran. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen the other man so angry. “Deran?”_ _

__“I’ll take care of it. Just give me whatever you know about him and I’ll take care of it.” Deran told him._ _

__“No.” Adrian refused._ _

__“What do you mean no? There’s no way you’re gonna get that much money in five days and like hell am I gonna let them come back for seconds.” Deran shouted._ _

__“Deran you know how I feel about getting mixed up in your family’s shit. I don’t want you to help if it involves you breaking the law. And if you do it for me that’d make me an accessory. I don’t want that.” Adrian was adamant._ _

__“So what? You’re just gonna let these guys come back? That’s bullshit Adrian. You didn’t do anything except surf well. They’re the dumbshits who placed bad bets. You don’t owe them a goddamn thing. I’d pay them off but that might just make them think they can come back for more. Especially if they know that you can get them that much money that fast.” Deran shook his head. “No. You can’t give them anything. Just tell me who they are and I’ll make them go away.”_ _

__“Deran, no. You don’t have to like it but you have to let me deal with this on my own.”_ _

__“Why the hell would I leave you to do this on your own? Have you seen your arm? And you want to let them come back and do it again?” Deran stood up and ran a hand through his hair. “No way. I’m not leaving you on your own with this.”_ _

__Adrian sighed. This was part of the reason why he hadn’t wanted Deran to know. He’d been good about keeping away from the Cody family business throughout the time he’d known Deran and he’d liked it that way. He didn’t want to owe Deran’s family anything._ _

__“Deran.” He tried._ _

__“No Adrian. You can’t just expect me to stay out of this. Some guys dragged you behind their car!” Deran was yelling by now. “We can figure something out so that you won’t be connected to it but I’m not gonna sit on my ass and let them do whatever they want to you.”_ _

__Adrian just looked at him. “I said no.”_ _

__“Adrian-”_ _

__“No. I made my decision. Now you have to decide whether or not you’re going to respect it.” Adrian glared at Deran as he got up and left the room._ _

__Adrian went back to his bedroom to get dressed for work. He had seen Oscar’s response that he would cover for him but he knew they were still dealing with a lot of backup from when he’d been gone and he should really get there soon to help him out._ _

__He was surprised when he came back out and saw Deran in the kitchen cleaning up his failed attempt at breakfast. Adrian had honestly expected Deran to storm out. He picked up his phone from the table and stopped in the doorway to the kitchen._ _

__“I’m going to work. If you’re gonna stick around, make sure to lock the door when you leave.” With that, he left._ _

__He’d barely gotten two steps away when he heard Deran’s voice. “I’ll stay out of it. If that’s what you want, then that’s what I’ll do. But please Adrian, let me help you.” Deran had come out of the kitchen as he talked and was stood behind him when he turned around._ _

__“Thank you. But I’d like to deal with this on my own.” Deran nodded. He clearly wasn’t happy but Adrian was grateful that he was willing to respect Adrian’s decision. “I’ll uh I’ll see you later?”_ _

__Deran nodded. “Yeah you can come by the bar if you want or I can come by after. It’ll be late, though.”_ _

__Adrian nodded back at him. “Let’s just play it by ear, yeah? I’ll text you.”_ _

__Both men sort of hovered there for a beat, unsure of their next move. Part of Adrian wanted to kiss him but he decided against it. Instead he gave Deran a quick smile and little wave with a “Later, then” and went to work._ _

__Deran went back into the kitchen to finish cleaning up._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to start wrapping this up
> 
> Then again it's already waay longer than I ever intended it to be so who knows


	9. Chapter 9

The next few days were pretty uneventful. Adrian’s deadline was Friday and it seemed like no one else was going to show up until then. J still kept an eye out though. He’d had to duck out of sight a few times when Deran showed up at the shop.

From what he could tell, Deran and Adrian were spending a lot of time together. Craig and Pope suggested that he check on Adrian’s place too but both times he’d gone by, Deran’s truck was parked out front. So he stopped going by. 

As far as he knew, Deran was still in the dark about what J and his uncles were doing. He’d told Craig a few things about Adrian’s situation which had helped them out but he maintained that Adrian didn’t want any of them involved so they kept their actions to themselves. 

In the last three days, Pope had found the hospital where Adrian had been admitted and with Baz’s help had tracked down the ‘sponsor’, Will Taft. Turns out the guy was a scam artist. He was a good one too. The fact that he worked for a legitimate sponsor made it easier for him to con surfers. When they started looking into him it became clear that Adrian hadn’t been the first guy Taft went after. At almost every competition that Taft went to for scouting, he would sign or at least try to sign at least one legitimate client while also making bullshit offers to a couple of other surfers. If they refused or cost him money in any way, he made them pay for it. Literally and figuratively. 

Once they found out exactly what had happened to Adrian and why, even Baz got fully on board. They were all frustrated with the man’s refusal to let them help but Deran had been adamant that they all stay out of it. So for now they just gathered information and waited. 

It was early Thursday morning when J saw some guys in suits approach the surf shop. He picked up his phone and sent a quick message on the group text so that Craig, Pope, and Baz knew what was going on. They hadn’t actually come up with a plan for what to do if the men came back. J stood up from where he had been waiting across the street. If he went in now, Adrian would know that he’d been watching. But if he didn’t and Deran found out that something happened to Adrian while he stood outside, he’d kill him. 

Luckily he didn’t have to choose: he watched as the men exited the shop only a few minutes after they’d entered. He saw Adrian close the door behind them. From what he could see, the man looked to be in about the same shape as he’d been in this morning. 

J checked his phone. He had messages from both Craig and Pope asking for updates. He responded before putting his phone away. When he looked back up, Adrian was in his car and pulling out of the parking lot. He pulled his phone out to send another update only to see that Craig had sent a text asking everyone to meet at Deran’s bar. 

\--------------------

After the men had left, Oscar told Adrian to take the day off or at least a few hours. Adrian tried to argue but the other man literally pushed Adrian out the door. So Adrian went. He got in his car and started driving. It wasn’t until he was halfway home that he decided he didn’t want to be alone in his home. He had no way of knowing if those men would come back but he assumed that they knew where he lived. 

He had learned two things during the men’s brief visit. The good news was that he didn’t have to worry about the state of his right arm. The bad news was that if he didn’t have the money by noon tomorrow he wouldn’t have to worry about anything anymore. 

He slammed a hand into the steering wheel. This whole situation was utter bullshit. He hadn’t done anything wrong. But now he had a bunch of angry men out for him and they were willing to kill him if they didn’t get what they wanted. If they had asked for something that he could give he would have given it just to put an end to the situation but what they’re asking for is so far beyond what he has it’s absurd. At this point, there was no reason to keep refusing the aid that had been offered to him. He never wanted to get involved in the Cody family business but if he couldn’t do anything and the cops couldn’t do anything, he didn’t see how he had any other choice. 

When he pulled into Deran’s bar he was surprised to see other cars in the parking lot. It was mid-morning. There was no way the bar was open and Deran’s employees didn’t usually show up until later. He saw that the front door was propped open so he just walked right in. 

Inside he found himself with the full attention of all the male Codys except the one he had come to see. 

“Uh hey. Deran here?” He asked. He wasn’t really familiar with any of them except Craig. Craig nodded. “Yeah man, he’s in the back.”

Adrian offered a quick thanks and made his way into the office. Deran was busy at his desk when he walked in. “I told you guys to leave me alone. I’m busy.”

“I can see that.” Deran looked up at his voice. 

“Hey.” Deran’s voice notably softened when he realized it was Adrian. “What are you doing here?”

“Are you guys busy?” Adrian asked. 

Deran shook his head. “I mean I’ve gotta do some stuff for the bar but it can wait. And I don’t know what they’re doing.” He gestured with his head towards the bar. “What’s up?” 

Adrian shrugged. He leaned against the desk. Deran turned to face him.

Their position was eerily similar to the time when Adrian gave him his old surfing photo. Deran looked up at him. “Did something happen?”

“The uh-those guys came back.” Deran sat up. “They didn’t do anything. Just reinforced the deadline. And apparently I don’t have to worry about damaging my other arm because they’re just gonna kill me.” He looked at Deran. “So. Wanna help me get out of this mess?”

Deran took his hand. “Are you sure? I know how much you wanted me to stay out of it.”

“Yeah I know but that was when I thought I could figure it out on my own. I guess now I’ve accepted that I can’t and I’d be an idiot to die because I was too proud to take your help.” Deran nodded and stood up. 

“Well conveniently, my brothers are just on the other side of that door. You ok with letting them help?” Deran waited until Adrian nodded his assent. He squeezed his hand then went out into the bar. Adrian followed.

When they exited the office, the four men in the bar turned to look at them. Adrian decided he’d rather just hang back and let Deran do the talking. 

Or at least that’s what he that would happen except Pope cut Deran off before he could start. 

“You decide to let us help you?” Pope directed his question to Adrian. Deran turned to look at him too, confused.

Well that makes two of them, Adrian thought. He had no idea how Pope knew. “Um. Yes? How did-”

“I filled them in after Deran found out.” Craig admitted. “We’ve been looking into it since then.”

“What?” Adrian asked dumbly. He honestly thought that Craig would’ve just forgotten after he’d told Deran.

“We found the sponsor you talked to. His name is Will Taft. He’s done this before. He’s works for a legit company so it’d be hard to get the cops on it. As long as he didn’t offer you a contract with a specific company, the cops can’t touch him. It becomes a game of he said she said.” Baz spoke up. “We also found out that he owes money to a bunch of bookies and he tried to use you to settle his accounts. He told them you were in on it. As long as we make it clear that you had nothing to do with him, they may leave you alone. If not, we can always provide extra incentive that would make you more trouble than you’re worth.”

“Ok” Adrian dragged the word out. He’d probably spoken 10 words to Baz in the 15+ years that he’d known Deran. The fact that the guy was apparently willing to go to bat for him was strange. “And what about the guys who threatened to kill me?” 

That got a reaction. The Codys all looked at each other. “Deran didn’t mention that.” Craig said.

“Well I was going to but you all seemed to be pretty well informed already.” Deran retorted. “It just happened this morning.”

J spoke up for the first time. “The guys in suits?”

Adrian turned to him. “How did you know they were wearing suits?”

“We had him keeping an eye on the surf shop in case anyone came back for round three.” Craig admitted. 

Deran looked at him. “What? Would you prefer I had left it completely alone?” Craig defended himself.

“I told you Adrian wanted us to stay out of it.” 

“And we did. We didn’t do anything. We just gathered information in case he changed his mind. And oh look he changed his mind. So now we can help.” Pope told him. He looked back at Adrian. “What did these guys look like? Did they say what they wanted or who they were?”

“I think they were Mexican.” J answered. “At least from what I could tell.”

Adrian nodded. “Yeah, they both had accents. But they didn’t say much. Just that they wanted the money owed them and if they didn’t get it by noon tomorrow they’d get their payment a different way. When I asked what they meant by that they told me not to worry. That I wouldn’t be around long enough to care.”

“Baz did you find any evidence of Taft working with Mexicans? Maybe he-”

Craig cut Pope off. “Hold on. Adrian, you said you didn’t want to be a part of this. So if you want to get out of here and not know the specifics, I get that. We’ll take care of it for you, don’t worry.” 

Adrian appreciated the out. Despite the fact that he had accepted Deran’s offer, he still wasn’t exactly comfortable with the reality of what that meant. He nodded. “Yeah okay. Just uh-just keep me posted ok?” 

Craig nodded. “Course man. I’m sure Deran will text you hourly updates.” He teased his brother, getting a glare in return. 

“Alright. Thanks.” Adrian said to all of them. He thought about saying something more but he decided it was probably best for him to just leave and let them get to it. He gave them all a quick nod and made his exit.

Deran followed him into the parking lot. “You ok?”

“Yeah I’ll be fine. I’m just gonna go back to work. It’ll give me something to do.” Adrian paused. “Could you, um. I don’t know how long this whole thing will take but I uh-” He was having trouble getting it out. Asking for help dealing with people extorting him was one thing. Admitting he was scared to be alone in his own apartment was another. “The men today told me my address. Wanted me to know that they knew where I lived and I just-”

“Text me when you leave work and I’ll meet you at your place. Or you can come over here. There’s a back room that’s mostly storage where I’ve been crashing until I can get a place of my own.” Deran offered immediately.

Adrian smiled gratefully. “Thanks. I might just come over here if it’s all the same to you.”

Deran nodded. “Yeah that works. Call me if anything else happens ok?”

“I will” Adrian promised. 

“OK. I know Craig was joking but I will be texting you updates.” He leaned in and kissed Adrian. “We’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”

Adrian smiled and nodded. As reluctant as he’d been to accept Deran’s help, he knew the other man could take care of it. Especially with his brothers around to help.


	10. Chapter 10

When Adrian returned to the bar a couple of hours later, business was in full swing. It was surprisingly busy for a Thursday night but Adrian appreciated the crowd. It was a stark difference to the empty apartment he was avoiding. 

Adrian headed for the bar first. He didn’t see Deran but Heather was working. She gave him a quick smile when she saw him but didn’t greet him just yet. When she was done with her customer she walked over to say hello. Adrian didn’t know her too well but they’d made conversation on Adrian’s previous visits to the bar and he’d been in a couple of times this week to help Deran set up so they weren’t strangers.

“I haven’t seen you in here during business hours in a while. What can I get you?” She asked him.

“Just a beer. Thanks.” He ordered. “Is Deran around?” 

Heather reached under the bar for a glass and pulled him a glass. She shook her head. “Nope. He headed out with his brothers a little bit before open. Said he’d be back later but wasn’t too specific on the details.” She handed him his beer. “You should tell him to give me a raise. I spend way too many nights flying solo back here.”

Adrian laughed. “And what makes you think that I have any say in what he pays you?” 

“Oh please. All you’d have to do is flutter your eyelashes.” She demonstrated for effect. “And he’ll do whatever you say. I’d try it if he wasn’t gay and in love with you.” She laughed as Adrian coughed around the sip he’d just taken. “What? You thought it wasn’t obvious? Guy looks at you like you hung the fucking moon. It’s nauseating.” She was smiling despite her words. Adrian tried to hold his own grin but couldn’t resist. He kind of liked the idea that anybody could just tell how Deran felt about him. The other man was being true to his word that he wasn’t hiding anymore.

She laughed at him. “You don’t need to look so smug.” Adrian flushed and shrugged. “After what we’ve been through, I think I’m entitled to a little smugness. He told her. She just shrugged at him. “I’ll take your word for it.” 

He reached for his wallet to pay for the drink but she waved him off. She tapped the bar in front of him and smiled, “I’m sure it’s on the house,” then walked over to help another customer. 

Adrian picked up his drink and walked back towards the pool tables. He’d recognized a couple of the guys playing when he walked in. No point in wasting away in the back room waiting for Deran to return.

He was a little surprised that Deran wasn’t here. True to his word he had been texting Adrian almost hourly updates on the situation. Most of them were pretty vague; just enough to let him know that everything was going according to plan but not enough to tell him what exactly that plan was. Last he’d heard from Deran had been about two hours ago - he’d said that they were heading out but that he’d meet Adrian at the bar later. Adrian sort of assumed that that meant he’d be here when Adrian got off work. But apparently whatever it was they were doing was taking a little bit longer than expected. 

Adrian played a few rounds of pool with the guys. It wasn’t until they all decided to head out that he realized a few hours had passed without him noticing. He said his goodbyes and made his way back over to the bar. Heather came over, “Have you heard from Deran?” Adrian started to shake his head. He hesitated then pulled out his phone to check for any message. 

There was nothing from Deran but he did have a text from an unknown number.

From Unknown - 10:32:

Meet us at the bar -J

Adrian checked the time. It was after 11. He wasn’t sure how far away they had been but they can’t have been too far. He looked up at Heather, “He should be here soon.”

She let out a huff. “Soon? That’s what he said when he left at 5. I seriously do not get paid enough to run this place by myself.” She walked away. Adrian had to concede that he had a point. Running the bar was Deran’s job and if he was going to miss the whole night, it was his responsibility to get someone to cover for him. Not leave the whole mess for his bartender. 

Adrian checked his phone again. Only now did he wonder why it was J who had texted him and not Deran. He checked his text history again. He hadn’t heard from Deran in over six hours now. From a guy who promised hourly updates, it was odd to say the least. 

He barely had any time to worry when he heard two cars pull into the parking lot and its doors slam shut. Within seconds, the Cody clan stormed into the bar and went straight through to the back room. Adrian barely got a look at Deran as he passed him but he clearly heard the man yell at Heather, “Bar’s closed! Get everyone out and then head home.” 

Heather stared after them for only a moment before following his direction. “Alright everyone, we are closing early tonight. Leave your glasses on the tables and make your way to the exit!” As she herded the last of the customers out the front door, Adrian followed the Codys. When he entered the back room, his first thought was that there was a lot of blood. Every man in the room had blood on him somewhere, either his face or his clothes or his hands. But Adrian’s eyes went straight to Deran. The blond was by far the worst. He had a couple cuts on his face and the corner of his mouth was bleeding; his knuckles were cut open; and there was blood on his shirt. 

“What the hell happened?” He asked the room in general though his gaze didn’t leave Deran. The other man was pacing. His head snapped up when Adrian spoke. It was as if he hadn’t noticed that the other man hadn’t entered the room. He closed the distance between them in two quick strides and pulled Adrian into a tight hug. 

Adrian’s arms came up around his back on pure instinct. This was the first time Deran had ever hugged him. “Deran? What happened?” He tried again. When he didn’t answer, he looked around at the other men.

“We took care of it. They won’t bother you again.” Pope answered him.

“Normally I wouldn’t ask but right now I’m gonna need more than that.” Deran pulled away from him but didn’t step away. “What happened? You all have blood on you.”

“Turns out Taft made some bad deals and placed several bets on you losing the competition, planning to use his winnings to cover his deals. When you did well, he convinced the men he owed money to that you had been in on it but double crossed him at the end. So his “business partners” wanted to get revenge on you because they thought you screwed them too. We uh we set them straight.” Baz told him. “We made sure that everyone knew that you had nothing to do with it. That you were as much his victim as they were.”

“Some of them required extra persuasion but they all got the message. No one’s gonna come after you again. Not because of Taft.” Craig finished. 

Adrian nodded. He could infer what Craig meant by ‘extra persuasion’. Deran leaned in and kissed him. “We took care of it. You’re safe. I promise.” He looked at the hand he had reached out to Adrian then down at his clothes as if only just now realizing that he was covered in blood. “I’m gonna go clean up. I’ll be right back.”

When he left, Adrian turned around and faced the rest of the Codys. He raised an eyebrow in question.

“He kind of lost it on Taft.” Craig admitted.

Adrian looked at the door Deran walked through. The man had clearly gotten into a fight and on his behalf. Adrian was touched. 

He directed his attention back to the men in the room. “Thank you. Really. I-” Pope waved him off. “We do what we do for family.”

Craig laughed at the confused look on Adrian’s face. “What? You didn’t think you were family?” Adrian just sort of shook his head. The thought had never even occurred to him.

“You put up with Deran and we’ll call it even alright?” Baz told him. Adrian looked at him blankly. Baz laughed. “I may have been slow on the uptake but he loves you. So don’t break him, okay?” 

Adrian could only nod. “I won’t.”

Deran chose this moment to return. He’d clearly washed his face and hands as both were clean of blood. Apparently the shirt was a lost cause since he returned with it in his hand and immediately threw it away. When he realized that it was silent in the room, he looks up to see everyone’s eyes on him. “What? The shirt was dead for. Too much blood.”

Craig laughed at him. “It ain’t the shirt man.” Deran looked at him. He just shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. If there’s nothing else that needs to get taken care of right now, I’m gonna head out. I’m beat.” The others made noises of agreement. 

As a group they exited the office. When Deran took in the sight of the bar he swore and ran a hand through his hair. He started towards a table and began to clear it of glasses.

Pope reached out a hand to stop him. “We’ll take care of it.” Craig, Baz, and J all looked at him. 

“What do you mean we?” Baz objected. Pope just glared at him. “We,” he emphasized, “will clean up and lock the doors. We can take a few minutes to clean up the glasses and the floor and put the chairs up.” He turned to Adrian. “Take Deran out of here, yeah? He needs to sleep.”

Adrian looked around. He realized that if he wanted to get out of here with Deran then he needed to do it now. He stepped forward and grabbed Deran by the elbow and tugged gently. “Thanks again. For everything.” He directed this to the group at large. When Deran didn’t budge, he tugged his arm again. Deran still didn’t budge. 

“I should really take care of this. It’s my mess to clean up.” Pope crossed his arms and stared at him. “I said we’ve got this. We’ll just do the basics. We’ll leave all the fun stuff for you to take care of tomorrow.”

For some reason, Deran chose now to be stubborn. He opened his mouth to object but Adrian beat him to it. “You can stay and clean or you can come home with me. Now.” He didn’t wait for a response, just turned and left with a wave to the other men. J and Craig raised their hands back but didn’t say anything. He didn’t look back to see if Deran was following but judging by the laughter that erupted behind him, the other man wasn’t far behind. 

He didn’t say anything as he left the bar. He’d ridden his bike over here from the shop so he walked over and unhooked it and put it in the back of Deran’s car. The other man just slid into the front seat.

They spent the quick ride back to his apartment in silence. It was only once they were inside that Adrian spoke up. “Are you okay?” He asked softly. Now that Deran had cleaned off the blood, he didn’t look so bad but he still had a few cuts on his face.

Deran ducked his head. “Yeah I’m fine. I um-I spoke to Taft.” Adrian chuckled. “Yeah Craig told me. Did you make it hurt?”

Deran picked up his left arm with care. It was doing a lot better but Adrian would be keeping the bandages on it for another few days. “I saw him and all I could think about was your arm. And your back. And your leg. And I just-I lost it.” He grabbed Adrian’s hand and looked him in the eye. “I made it hurt. I made sure he will never come after you again.”

Adrian looked down at the hand holding his. He lifted them both up to his mouth and gently kissed Deran’s bloody knuckles. “Good.”

He lowered their hands. “You look exhausted.” Deran bobbed his head. “I could definitely get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning.” He leaned in and kissed Adrian softly. He stepped back and made to pull his hand from Adrian’s but Adrian gripped it tight. Deran stopped and looked at him quizzically.

“Or you could see me all night.” Adrian moved towards his bedroom. “The couch is terrible. I’m sure my bed is a lot more comfortable.” 

Deran didn’t resist when Adrian tugged him along with him. “Are you sure?” He asked. It was a fair question. In the past few days, they’d exchanged a few kisses but nothing more. The two nights Deran stayed over, he slept on the couch. 

Adrian waited until they were both in his bedroom before responding. “I’m sure. And I’m not all that tired just yet. Are you sure you’re ready to go to bed?” He raised an eyebrow at Deran. 

Deran squeezed his hand. “I thought you wanted to go slow. Talk things out.”

Adrian pulled him close then let go to grip his jaw. “We will talk. I expect that we are going to have a lot of conversations in the near future. Probably starting tomorrow. But that doesn’t mean we have to stay celibate until we have every conversation that we need to have. That might be a long wait.” He leaned in and kissed him. “And I don’t know about you but I’m not feeling all that patient right now.” 

Adrian put his hands on Deran’s hip, grateful that Deran still hadn’t put a shirt on. Deran looked at him searchingly. Adrian tried to keep his face as honest as possible. It was true, he still had some reservations about entering into a long term relationship with Deran. But this wasn’t that. Not yet. And this he was sure of. He started to run his hands up Deran’s sides.

Deran seemed to find what he was looking for in Adrian’s face because he reached out and pulled him in by the back of his neck. Adrian’s hands slipped around to his back and suddenly they were locked in a passionate embrace. 

Adrian wanted to say that this was a familiar sensation but the truth of it was that they’d rarely shared more than the simplest of kisses. This was an altogether new feeling and he found that he liked it. He liked it a lot. 

Deran pulled back just a bit. “We’ll talk tomorrow.” Adrian cut him off before he could say anything. “Right now,” Deran pressed his lips against his to cut him off. He pulled back again quickly.

“Tomorrow,” he agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright folks that's it
> 
> My first (and possibly only) multi-chapter fic is said and done. Thank you to everyone who read and followed this along the way especially those who left feedback. Comments and kudos are life <3


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